


Collision Course

by hoopznyoyo



Series: NCIS - hoopznyoyo [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5735161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoopznyoyo/pseuds/hoopznyoyo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>#3 of my NCIS series.<br/>Tony is going to try and make it work with Tori, but there are some bumps along the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Where are the papers I have to sign, Duck?” Special Agent Tony DiNozzo asked as he walked into the autopsy room early one morning.

“They’re over on my desk,” Ducky answered while turning around from the x-ray he was examining. “You seem to be in a bit of a hurry, Anthony. I wasn’t aware a call came in.”

“One didn’t and I want to make sure I’m out of here before one does,” Tony replied and sat down at the desk against the wall. He picked up the pen he found lying on top of the papers and began looking them over. “I’m using some comp time and getting away for a long weekend.”

“Getting away?” Ducky asked thoughtfully. “Finally taking that beach vacation at last? You’ve been wanting to do that for some time now.”

“Not unless Montréal has a large expanse of beach I don’t know about,” Tony said and looked up from the papers he was signing.

“Montréal? I believe that there are a few beaches, not like those in the tropics but beaches nonetheless,” Ducky answered. “It doesn’t really seem like your idea of a long weekend getaway.”

“I don’t know, Duck; it has a certain je ne sais quoi,” Tony replied elusively and went back to the paperwork.

“Would that je ne sais quoi happen to be named Victoria?” Ducky asked and smiled at the NCIS agent indulgently. He had heard the rumors floating around the building regarding the agent. Abby, who usually told him everything going on at NCIS, wouldn’t confirm or deny the gossip when anyone asked which added more fuel to the rumors. Tony himself had been unusually reticent and displayed an uncharacteristic lack of bravado about his social life since his return after his overnight hospital stay. Ducky now knew the rumors were mostly true.

“So you’ve heard?” Tony nodded absently and looked up at the medical examiner now standing beside him.

“That sort of news travels fast, Anthony,” Ducky replied.

“Especially since it’s me,” Tony said wryly.

“Yes, well, I’m sure that added to the general interest. I wouldn’t let it bother you, someone will soon take your place,” Ducky said. “I’ll bet Victoria’s looking forward to seeing you.”

Tony stood up and handed the pen to Ducky. “I’m surprising her. It’s gonna be just the two of us, Ducky. No work, no siblings, no hospitals allowed.”

“Enjoy yourself, my boy,” Ducky told Tony as he walked out of autopsy.

* * *

 

While Tony was on his flight to Montréal, Victoria Theriault walked into her office after meeting with other curators and assistants about the exhibition that was opening the next night. She was surprised to find someone seated in the high back chair facing her desk. She was even more surprised that someone had a familiar face when he rose and turned to face her.

“Victoria, how have you been?” the man asked in French as he stepped closer to her. He kissed her on both cheeks as he continued, “You’re as beautiful as ever.”

“Charles, this is a surprise,” she replied taken aback by his presence. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard about the exhibition,” he answered and handed her a bouquet of fresh flowers. “I thought I’d come for the opening.”

“You heard about the exhibition?” Tori asked the man she had once lived with in France before going to sit behind her desk. She had not heard from Charles Alauzet since she had left Paris when they had broken up years prior.

“You borrowed two pieces from a very good friend,” Charles said plainly and returned to the chair.

“I don’t remember your name coming up in conversation with anyone I spoke to,” she told him as she wondered about the reason for his sudden reappearance in her life.

“No, but you did happen to mention your love of scouring the markets on Rue Cler,” he stated. “I decided that the possibility of two women devoted the Rue Cler markets while being extremely knowledgeable about classical art was very rare.”

“So you decided to come to Montréal all because of Rue Cler?” she inquired with a quizzical look on her face .

“I decided to come to Montréal and see if I was correct. And I was,” Charles told her with a smile and then glanced at the clock on the wall. “Do you have time for lunch?”

“It’s a busy time for me, Charles,” Tori replied honestly. She was still uncertain how she felt about him tracking her down after so long and not sure she wanted to prolong the encounter.

“Victoria,” he objected. “I’m sure they will allow you some time for lunch.”

“Fine, but I can’t be gone all afternoon. I have things I need to get done,” she answered. “There’s a bistro not far from here if you don’t mind walking.”

“You’re a very difficult person to find, do you know that?” Charles told her when they were seated at an inside table close to the front of the restaurant.

“You’ve been trying to find me? Why?” Tori answered warily and switched to English in the hopes of a shorter conversation.

“I wondered how you were over the years,” Charles replied. “How do you say it? I wondered what you have been up to.”

“I haven’t been in hiding since coming back,” she told him.

“I was looking for Victoria Sciuto in New Orleans,” he said seriously. “I was surprised to find you living in Montréal with a different name.”

“It’s been a long time, Charles,” she told him. “You didn’t really expect me to be sitting around pining after you ended things?”

“You are married now, yes, but you do not wear a ring?” he asked ignoring her inquiry and let his eyes move from her face to her hand and back again. As she followed his gaze, she was almost certain that Charles’ sudden arrival in Montréal was related to more than a museum exhibit.

“My husband died,” Tori said shortly not wanting to get in to more details.

“I’m so sorry, Victoria,” Charles told her. “It must be difficult to be surrounded by the memories, yet you stay?”

“I like my job and the city. It’s home,” she replied. “How are things with you?”

“My wife left me last year,” he answered. “She moved back to Nice with our two children.”

“That must be difficult,” Tori said sincerely.

“At times,” he told her. “My colleague tells me there’s an opening coming up at the Cluny. It would be perfect for you and you could return to Paris.”

“Is that what brings you here?” she said. “You wanted to tell me about a job?”

“You loved Paris,” Charles responded ignoring her questions again. “You would be happy there again. Think of what it would do for your career.”

“I’m happy here, Charles,” she said earnestly. “Besides, tapestries really aren’t my thing.”

“You are happy being alone?” he asked.

“I’m not alone,” Tori said correcting him. “I have friends here. My family is in Washington, DC which isn’t that far away. Plus, I’m still close to my husband’s family. They check in on me from time to time and make sure I’m okay.”

“You could make new friends,” he told her. “Revisit the places you used to go. Rekindle old friendships.”

“It’s not that easy, Charles. I can’t just leave,” Tori protested. “I have a life here; a job I love; a boyfriend.”

“Aahhh. He wouldn’t like you to go even if it would benefit you and your career?” he asked curiously.

“ _I_ wouldn’t like me to go right now,” she replied making sure to stress the “I”.

“It’s serious this relationship?” he inquired looking directly into her eyes.

“Mostly,” she answered deliberately vague as she stared back at him. Tori liked Tony… a lot, but they had really only become somewhat more seriously involved in the past month or so. At this point she had no idea where their relationship was headed and didn’t want to look too far in the future given Tony’s past. She also did not want Charles knowing more about her life than he already knew.

“It’s getting late, I need to get back to the museum,” Tori added as she rose from her chair.

“Promise me you’ll think about it, Victoria? It is too important an opportunity to just brush aside without giving it some thought, especially if you are unsure about your boyfriend,” Charles told her.

“My answer isn’t going to change,” she replied.

* * *

 

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo dialed Tori’s number at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts as he sat in his rental car at the airport and asked to speak with Victoria Theriault.

“I’m sorry, she’s out for lunch,” Sylvie, the receptionist, said to him. “Would you like her voice mail?”

“No, merci,” he answered and hung up. He drove to the museum despite the fact Victoria was out, determined to not let all of his plans go awry. After finding a parking space he walked in the direction of the small bistro Tori had taken him to when he was searching for Abby. With any luck, that was where Victoria Theriault was having lunch.

As he approached the restaurant he spied Victoria sitting at a small table near the front window. Sitting opposite her was a handsome older man with dark hair that was greying and strong, chiseled features. Instead of walking inside and approaching them, Tony stood where he was and watched. As Tori rose to leave, the man leaned in and gave her a quick kiss causing Tony to shake his head in dismay and disbelief.

Tony quickly turned and headed back towards the museum and his car before she passed his way as she exited the restaurant. In the parking lot, Tony sat in his car and thought over the past few months since he had met Victoria Theriault. She had told him that she expected his full attention to their relationship and he was totally committed to seeing where it might go. He never suspected even for a second that she might be seeing someone else. He put the key in the ignition and started the engine. A few seconds later, Tony shut off the engine and banged his hands against the steering wheel. He got out of the car and walked into the museum.

“Sylvie, is Victoria back from lunch?” he asked when he approached the desk.

“Yes, let me call her and let her know you’re here,” she answered without asking his name. Tony had made quite an impression on her the first time he had visited the museum.

“Not necessary. I remember where her office is,” he said and strode down the hall to Tori’s office as Sylvie followed trying to catch up.

“She’s on the telephone,” Sylvie told him sternly outside Tori’s partially opened office door. Tony ignored her, knocked on the doorframe and pushed the door open wider before walking in. From her desk, Tori looked up as the door swung open and Tony stood in the entrance.

“Can I call you back? Something’s come up here that needs my immediate attention,” she said into the phone and hung up. “Tony, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” he said shortly.

Tori looked at him with narrowed eyes not really believing him and then glanced to towards Sylvie who lingered in the doorway watching. “Thanks for bringing him down, Sylvie.” She then turned her attention back to Tony and asked, “What are you doing here on a Thursday afternoon?”

“I told you I’d come see you in a few weeks,” he said. “Here I am.”

“I didn’t think we decided on anything definite,” she replied with a hint of a smile.

“Obviously,” he said gruffly and glanced towards her desk. On the far corner sat a bunch of flowers still wrapped in paper. They appeared to be fresh and to have been casually tossed there. “Want to get some lunch? I didn’t eat before I left, I thought I’d wait and get something with you.”

“I already ate. If I had known you were coming, I would’ve waited,” she said and stared at him directly. The tone of his voice since arriving had not gone unnoticed but Tori wasn’t about to get into what was bothering him while she was at work. She dug in her purse and fished out her keychain. She took off the key to her apartment and tossed it at him. “Do you think you can find your way to my place again? I’ll try to get out of here as early as I can.”

He caught the key effortlessly. “Thanks, I’m sure I’ll find it,” Tony replied disarmed by her ease. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“If I did, you wouldn’t have the key in your hand right now,” she replied wondering where his questions were coming from. “Make yourself at home. If you don’t feel like stopping for food, there’s leftovers in the refrigerator.”


	2. Chapter 2

Tori retrieved the spare key from her neighbor when she arrived at her apartment after work instead of knocking on her own door. She had managed to leave the museum earlier than usual and had only had odds and ends left to complete for the exhibition opening on Friday evening. She smiled as she walked inside and saw Tony sitting on the floor leaning up against the sofa. The suit he was wearing earlier had disappeared and he was now dressed casually in jeans and hooded shirt, shoes off and white sport socks showing. He was unwittingly even more handsome as he sat there informally dressed and Tori paused a moment to remind herself that she was still angry with his attitude towards her earlier at the museum.

As she got closer she saw he was paging through a photo album she had left lying out on the coffee table. He slowly turned a page and continued looking down at the photos as she stood next to him. “Hi!” she said, “Find anything interesting in there?”

“Lots. This is quite the picture book,” Tony said without looking up.

“My friends and I knew that if the gators didn’t get us, somebody’s daddy probably would,” Tori told him chuckling. “But that never really stopped us.”

“Since you’re here, I’m going to assume the gators didn’t get you,” he replied.

“My daddy did – on more than one occasion,” she said with a smile as she dropped her purse and sunk down on the sofa next to him. “Lucky my parents felt sorry for me or else I’d still be grounded.”

“Do you miss New Orleans?” he asked.

“Sometimes. It’s hard not to, lots of memories there,” she answered as he glanced at his watch. “That’s the Metairie Cemetery, by the way.”

“You _are_ home early,” he announced as he finally looked up at her.

“I managed to wrap up as much as I could. Having you to come home to was an extra incentive to get a lot done,” she told him.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, really,” Tori answered emphatically. “You’re not here every day.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” he replied brusquely and went back to looking at the photo album.

“I could do without the attitude. What’s your problem?” she asked having had enough.

“I thought we were going to try and make this work,” Tony said looking down at the same photos he had been staring at for the past three minutes. “I came up here and thought we’d have a nice weekend together; just you and me.”

“Just say it Tony; I don’t feel like playing twenty questions,” Tori stated.

“Who was the man you were having lunch with?” he asked and closed the photo album with a loud snap.

“That’s why you’re in a mood? Because I was having lunch with someone?” she questioned angrily.

“It wasn’t just someone Vic, he kissed you,” Tony protested. “I’m also going to assume he brought you the flowers that were on the corner of your desk.”

“I didn’t realize you were psychic. That must come in handy on the job,” she shot back. “Is there anything else you want to tell me or are you going to stop with insinuating that I’m screwing around?”

“I didn’t …,” he tried to interject as she paused but she was continuing her tirade over his words.

“Tony, if it bothered you so much why didn’t you come inside? Obviously, you were there,” Tori demanded.

“I wasn’t there exactly. I called the museum when I landed; Sylvie said you were out for lunch. I was hungry and it’s the only place I know of close by. I walked over and saw you; you were seated near the front window,” he explained. “If I’d have known there was someone else I wouldn’t have come to see you.”

“There is no one else,” she stated firmly as she stood up. “Tony, why would I give you the key to my apartment if I was trying to hide something or someone?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Who is he?” Tori strode angrily off down the short hallway to her bedroom without answering. “That’s the answer I get? Way to avoid the question, Victoria.”

“I’m not avoiding the question,” she said loudly. “I want to change into something more comfortable. I do it everyday when I come home from work.” She quickly grabbed clothes from her bedroom, walked to the bathroom and slammed the door loudly. A short time later, Tori emerged and silently walked back into kitchen as Tony looked on.

“Who is he?” Tony repeated, as he watched her open the refrigerator and grab a bottle of beer off the shelf. Tori opened the bottle and placed it on the table and took a seat opposite of where the beer was placed. Tony took her silent cue and sat down in front of the open bottle.

“His name is Charles Alauzet,” Tori explained. “I knew him when I lived in France.”

“Knew him how?” he probed, wanting more of an explanation. As he posed the question, a realization hit him. “That’s who you stayed in Paris for.”

She looked over at Tony and nodded before answering, “You knew about him before we were dating. It’s not like I tried to hide his existence, or my past, from you.”

“You forgot to mention that he lived here in Montréal,” he retorted and took a long swallow of beer.

“He doesn’t live here,” she replied not flinching from his stare.

“Then what’s he doing here?” Tony asked bitterly his hazel eyes dark and stormy.

“He said he heard about the exhibition and decided to come for the opening,” she told him. Tori saw the doubt reflected in Tony’s eyes. “You don’t believe me?”

“I saw the way he looked at you. He came here for more than a museum exhibition, Vic,” Tony said plainly. “Then there’s rule number thirty-nine.”

“What the hell is rule number thirty-nine?” she questioned furiously.

“There are no such things as coincidences,” he explained. “It’s one of Gibbs’ rules.”

“You don’t honestly think I invited him here, do you?” Tori asked as Tony took another drink from the bottle.

“Honestly, no,” Tony admitted. “When were you planning to tell me about this exhibition?”

“Tony, I did tell you,” she replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Two weeks ago, again last week. Don’t take it out on me if you forgot.”

“This is the first time he’s been in contact with you since you left Paris?” he asked not wanting to admit that he had forgotten about the exhibition opening.

“Yes, and I haven’t called him either before you ask,” she said with exasperation and reached across the table to grab the bottle of beer. She put it to her lips and took the final swallow.

“Victoria, I wasn’t…” he began but was cut off.

“Tony, we both know you were,” Tori said gently. “He dumped me, rather unceremoniously, for a much more exotic woman from the south of France. I got over it. I moved on. I had and have no reason to be calling him.”

“You don’t think it’s strange that he just showed up all of a sudden, right when you have this exhibition?” Tony asked as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Of course I think it’s strange after all this time has passed but his wife left him last year,” she told him and watched for Tony’s reaction to that information.

“So he found out where you worked and decided to see what happens,” he finished.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Tori stated surely while looking Tony directly in the eye. “I’m very content … with everything. I’m getting hungry. You?”

“I could eat,” he answered, a small smile playing around his lips as he relaxed. “Do you want to go out or stay here?”

They decided to go a nearby restaurant a few blocks from Tori’s apartment. The conversation during dinner carefully avoided Tori’s past and the exhibition. Instead Tori asked about Abby, Ducky and his work at NCIS. If Tony noticed that she was steering the conversation away from herself he gave no indication of it. On the way back to the apartment Tori decided to bring up the exhibition again.

“You’re going to come with me tomorrow night, aren’t you?” she asked as they neared her building.

“To the museum?” Tony replied as he looked over at her. “Ummm … I don’t know.”

“I know it wasn’t in your plans but, please come with me Tony,” she pled. Tori silently hoped he would change his mind. She didn’t want to spend the night avoiding Charles and his questions alone. As she unlocked the door to her apartment Tony finally spoke up.

“You really want me to go with you tomorrow night?” he asked and searched Tori’s eyes for an answer before she spoke.

“Of course I really want you to be there,” Tori answered honestly. “I’m getting changed for bed. It’s been a long day.”

“I’m going to watch TV for a while,” Tony replied. He settled on the sofa and grabbed the remote as he removed his shoes.

In the bedroom, Tori changed and got into bed. She had honestly been tired when they got back after dinner but once in bed she found herself tossing and turning. The day’s events ran through her mind over and over and she stared at the empty space next to her. After lying awake for a few hours she got out of bed and walked back into the living room. She found Tony dozing on the sofa as the television flickered in the otherwise dark room. Tori watched him sleep for a few seconds before lightly brushing his arm. He blearily opened his eyes and tried to focus on her.

“Come to bed,” Tori said quietly as she picked up the remote.

Tony slowly sat up and raised his head to look up at her as the room went dark. “I wasn’t sure you wanted me there. I haven’t been exactly pleasant since getting here.”

“It’s going to take a lot more for me to make you sleep out here,” she stated and grabbed his hand. “Besides, I can’t sleep knowing you’re out here and I’ve got a very early day tomorrow.”


	3. Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Tori slipped out of bed being careful not to wake Tony. She showered, got dressed and quickly grabbed some breakfast. She jotted a short note to let Tony know what time he could expect her back home and before heading out the door, quickly put on her lip gloss using a mirrored candleholder on the side table.

Tori’s cell phone rang later that morning as she sat at her desk. She saw on the display that it was Abby calling. “What can I do for you, Abracadabra?” she asked using the nickname she had given her sister when they were children.

“Have you heard from Tony?” Abby asked. “He left here early yesterday and didn’t show up today. _And_ he didn’t say he was taking some time off.”

“He’s a big boy, Abby. Does he check in with you every time he does something or goes somewhere?” Tori replied and shook her head.

“Well, no,” Abby admitted.

“How do you know he hasn’t fallen asleep in a movie theater after a marathon screening of Hitchcock films?” Tori teasingly asked with a smile.

“Tori, I’m serious. What if something happened to him?” Abby said sternly.

“Abbs, really,” Tori answered with an audible exhale. “Nothing has happened to him. He’s here with me and probably didn’t tell you because he wanted it to be a surprise.”

“He came to see you? I thought your exhibition was opening tonight?” Abby asked. “Not that you didn’t want him there but it sounded like he wasn’t really into the meet and greet of it.”

“It is tonight. He forgot,” Tori said. “That’s the least of my problems right now.”

“What’s going on?” Abby questioned. “Is everything okay?”

“I walked into my office yesterday to find Charles sitting there waiting for me,” Tori told her sister.

“Charles? You don’t mean that Charles?” Abby wondered aloud.

“That’s the one I mean,” Tori replied.

“What’s he doing there?” Abby asked her sister with an edge in her voice.

“He said he came for the exhibition at the museum,” Tori told her. “He also offered me a job -- in France and oh, did I mention, he’s divorced now.”

“That is _so_ not good. Does Tony know he’s there?” Abby questioned earnestly.

“Oh yes, Tony knows he’s here. Charles took me for lunch and Tony saw us out at the restaurant. He wasn’t too happy to find out Charles tracked me down and is here,” Tori explained.

“I bet he wasn’t happy to hear about the job offer either,” Abby replied.

“I didn’t tell him about that,” Tori said sheepishly.

“You didn’t tell him? Why not?” Abby practically shouted into the phone.

“Because I have no intention of taking it. It’s not even a consideration, so I didn’t think there was a point in mentioning it,” Tori explained.

“Tor, I think you’re making a mistake,” Abby stated firmly. “You should at least mention it and tell Tony you’re not interested. What happens if he finds out and thinks you were hiding it from him?”

“Abby, are you going to tell him about it?” Tori inquired.

“No, I won’t say a thing. I promise,” Abby replied earnestly. “But I still think you should tell him about it.”

“Thanks for your opinion,” Tori answered shortly. “I’ve really got to go Abbs, I’ve got a lot to do. I want to leave early today. Tony had everything all planned for this weekend and it really got trashed. I’ve got to make it up to him somehow.”

“You’re sure everything’s okay?” Abby asked seriously.

“Yeah. It’s just a lot going on all at once and I’ve just got to finish up some things before going home,” Tori replied. “Talk to you later.”

* * *

 

“You ready?” Tori called when she walked in her apartment early that afternoon.

“Ready for what?” Tony asked from where he sat. He had read the note she left for him when he awoke but he decided to be deliberately vague in his answers.

“I owe you lunch,” she replied. “I also thought we’d go shopping, maybe get you a new tie for tonight.”

“What’s wrong with the one I had on yesterday?” he asked eyeing her suspiciously as she walked into the room. “It’s Zegna.”

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it,” she told him. “I just thought we’d get you something a bit more red and a bit less Zegna. Do you know you’re very high maintenance?”

“No one’s ever told me that before,” he said laughing.

“You don’t need all the high-end fluff. You are almost irresistible in those jeans and shirt,” Tori replied with a smile and looked him over.

“Am I now?” he asked with a glint in his eye. “Just almost.”

“Yes… almost,” she answered winking, silently happy that things between them were much better than the previous day. “Let me change quick and we’ll get going.”

They enjoyed a leisurely, late lunch at a small place Tori knew. As they spoke, Tori thought about telling Tony about the job offer as Abby had suggested but didn’t know how to bring it up. After lunch, Tori led the way to a menswear boutique and picked out a tie and shirt for Tony to wear that evening. Despite his earlier half-hearted protest, Tony was happy to indulge her whim as the weekend began looking more promising.

* * *

 

That evening Tori emerged from the bedroom wearing a form-fitting sleeveless black cocktail dress. It had a retro silhouette with a wide plunging neckline and small bows at the shoulder. The look was perfectly complimented by her red lips and winged eye liner and her short hair which was usually kept in a tousled style was curled and combed back from her face.

“Wow!” Tony said as he caught sight of her. “Hitchcock would’ve loved you. What happens if we, well mainly you, don’t show up tonight?”

“I have to be there, Tony,” she replied smiling at his compliment. “And thank you. You’re looking pretty good yourself.”

“Even without the jeans?” he asked trying to keep a serious look on his face.

“Yes, fine, even in the suit you look good,” Tori admitted. “Are you happy now?”

“Not really. I’d rather keep you all to myself tonight but I’m ready to perform protection detail,” he said. “You’re going to need it.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Tori answered.

“I know of at least one man who won’t be able to take his eyes off you, and I’m not counting me,” he replied.

“Tony, stop,” she pleaded. “I’m only worried about turning your head.”

“You’re sure you have to be there?” he asked again and wrapped his arms around her.

“Yes, I have to be there,” Tori answered as Tony slowly and sensually kissed her neck. “Afterwards, the rest of the weekend is yours.”

* * *

 

“Victoria, I thought maybe you weren’t coming,” a heavily accented voice said as Tori walked into a large gallery arm in arm with Tony. It seemed to Tori that Charles had been waiting near the front of the room, hoping to see her arrive. She herself had wished to avoid him as long as possible.

“Friday night traffic. Charles Alauzet, Anthony DiNozzo,” Tori said introducing her former and current lover. “Tony, Charles is an art historian at Paris-Sorbonne University. Tony works for NCIS in Washington, DC.”

“Isn’t that where you mentioned your sister is?” Charles inquired while looking intently at Tori.

Tony followed Charles’ gaze and answered his question before Tori could say a word, “Abby and I work together.”

“Ahh,” Charles replied with a quick smile at him and nodded.

“Tori, I’d like to introduce you to Monsieur and Madame Dupuis. They are major benefactors,” Tori’s supervisor, Jean-Paul said as he approached the trio.

“Please excuse me for a minute or two,” Tori said to the two men and accompanied Jean-Paul a short distance away.

“You work in Washington, DC?” Charles asked Tony after Tori departed. “It must make your relationship with Victoria difficult.”

“We manage pretty well,” Tony answered nodding.

“How long have you been together?” Charles inquired.

“A few months,” Tony responded without further clarification and then began his own questioning, “What brings you to Montréal?”

“The exhibition. A colleague told me about it. Since I had the time, I thought I would come to see it,” Charles answered. “Victoria has done a good job; it’s very impressive.”

“Yes, well, she does love her job,” Tony replied.

“She always did love art and Paris, too,” Charles said. “The position at Cluny is perfect for her.”

“The position?” Tony asked with hesitation. “A job? In Paris?”

“Yes, at the Musee de Cluny,” Charles explained with a smile. “It is a tremendous opportunity for her career.”

“She’s told you that she’s taking the position?” Tony inquired uneasily and glanced over at Tori.

“No,” Charles answered succinctly. “Victoria is, how do you put it, giving it some thought. She didn’t tell you?”

“Umm, no but we haven’t had much of a chance to talk. I just got in yesterday afternoon,” Tony said. “Vic’s been pretty busy getting everything ready for tonight.” As he spoke, Victoria Theriault walked up next to him and slid her arm around his and squeezed his hand.

“Did I miss anything?” she asked looking over at Tony smiling. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

“I’m going to get a drink. Can I get you something?” Tony leaned in and asked Tori as she stood next to him. He deliberately didn’t mention his short conversation with Charles to her. Instead he carefully watched and tried to gauge her reaction.

“Definitely,” she answered easily and quickly brushed his fingers with her own before he walked away leaving her standing with her former lover.

Tony walked over to a long table set with hors d’oeuvres and glasses of champagne. He grabbed a small plate and idly walked along, placing some of the bite size food on the plate. After taking a glass of champagne, he stood off to the side and watched intently as Charles continued to speak to ‘Victoria’.

As he put his plate down on a tall table set off in a corner, one of the museum security guards came to stand next to him. As Tony turned his head, the guard spoke in French-accented English. “You’re with Tori, right?”

“Umm, I think so,” Tony said absently, looking at the guard quickly before his gaze returned across the room to where she stood.

“I thought I recognized you,” the guard told him. “You were here a month or so ago. I remember seeing you walking the galleries with Tori. I’m Georges.”

“Tony,” came the short reply. “I wasn’t here that long. I’m surprised you remember me.”

“Tori doesn’t walk through here with many people. She’s usually alone.” Georges explained. “Are you a curator or are you the reason she’s been so happy lately?”

“I’m definitely not a curator, Georges, and right now I’m not sure I’m the other either,” Tony replied with a nod towards Tori and Charles.

“You think she’s interested in him?” Georges asked with surprise while looking over at the pair.

“They used to date, live together, the whole thing,” Tony said in explanation without looking away from Tori.

“Sans blague? He doesn’t seem like her type,” Georges replied.

“He was her type when she was in college in Paris,” Tony asked pulling his attention away from Tori and putting it on Georges. “How do you know her type?”

“I don’t really, but I’d say I can guess,” Georges answered. “I knew Jeremie for years. Tori helped get me this job when I retired. I would say she’s much more interested in you.”

“What makes you say that?” Tony asked.

“I doubt she keeps looking over here at me,” Georges said with a laugh and then asked. “Why are you here talking to me when you could be talking to her?”

“Georges, I really don’t know,” Tony answered. “Thanks.”

Tony left his plate and empty glass on the table and then picked up two more filled champagne glasses. He walked over to Tori, who was now standing alone and handed her one.

“I thought you deserted me,” Tori told him as she accepted the glass.

“No. I was talking with another one of your admirers,” Tony replied as she looked at him, her eyes questioning. “Georges.”

“And what were the two of you discussing?” she asked with a smile.

“The art; the weather; good places for lunch,” he answered skillfully, and avoided telling her the real subject of their conversation. “I came all this way _and_ got a new shirt and tie, Victoria Theriault, the least you can do is show me this exhibit of yours.”

Tori laughed quietly, tucked her arm in his, and led the way down the hall. When they had walked through the entire showing she took the empty glass from his hand and placed it down on a table with hers. She then led him through a crowd of people and murmured greetings as she passed. “Where are we going?” Tony asked as they stood near the coatroom.

“Home,” Tori said and reached in his jacket pocket for the paper she put there after checking her wrap when they arrived.

“Home?” he asked and watched her nod in reply.

“Are you okay?” he questioned further.

“I’m just ready to go,” she said with a small smile.

“Keys,” she said and put her hand out as they approached his rental car.

“Keys?” he repeated. “Why?”

“Can you find your way in the dark?” Tori asked.

“I think I can manage,” Tony replied his face serious. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine…really,” she answered.

* * *

 

“Thanks for going along tonight; I know you weren’t looking forward to it,” Tori said as she tossed her purse on a small side table as they entered her apartment. “If you weren’t here, I’d probably still be there.”

“And getting all sort of proposals from a former lover,” Tony said off-handedly and took off his jacket as he walked over to the stereo. He turned on the radio; it was still tuned to a jazz station he had found earlier in the day.

“ _Tony_ …,” she said with exasperation as she followed him into the room and kicked off her heels.

“Sorry, it just slipped out,” he sheepishly answered. “Aren’t you hungry, you didn’t eat anything?”

“Starving. I’m going to get something now,” she replied as she eyed him closely.

Tori walked into the kitchen and dug around in the refrigerator pulling out a few containers. Tony stood aside and watched as she got a pan and dumped some rice and vegetables followed by two eggs and what looked to be soy sauce.

“My version of fried rice,” Tori announced turning around. “Interested?”

“Always,” Tony said. Tori handed him two forks and brought the pan to the table.

“You eat this way?” he asked surprised.

“Sometimes,” she responded with a laugh. “Why?”

“Well,” he replied in between bites. “You’re a girl.”

“I told you, I’m low maintenance,” she said with a challenge in her eye.

“So am I,” Tony answered with a grin.

“Low maintenance is one thing you will never be, Anthony DiNozzo,” Tori shot back.

“And yet you still see me and take my calls,” he retorted.

“Good thing you can make me laugh,” she said as she got up and placed the empty pan in the sink.

“I’m not doing too well with that lately,” he stated.

“Can we just move on and enjoy the rest of the weekend?” Tori said quietly.

“Fine with me,” Tony answered and led her back into the living room where a soulful jazz tune was emanating from the radio. “Do you dance, Victoria?”

“I have been known to on occasion,” she murmured as he pulled her close. “This seems more listenable than danceable.”

“I’ll lead; just go with it,” he whispered in her ear and then kissed her.

“I’ve missed you, Tony,” she replied and rested her head against his shoulder. 


	5. Chapter 5

Early the next morning, Tori’s cell phone rang. She looked over at the screen quickly and promptly ignored it.

“You should answer that, you know,” Tony told her as he lounged on the sofa with a cup of coffee and watched as she rummaged in a closet. “What if it’s important?”

“I know I can answer it but we’re on our way out and you get and have my undivided attention, remember?” she replied. “Besides, I don’t work for NCIS, so I doubt it’s anything that can’t wait a while.”

“Where are we going anyway?” he asked and yawned. “It’s kind of early.”

“I thought we’d go to the market first and get it out of the way. I need to get a few things,” she answered. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Lead the way,” he answered with a smile.

They ventured out to the Jean-Talon Market and wandered around looking at everything the vendors had. Tori bought fruits, vegetables and other sundries and she and Tony sampled some food at a few of the stands. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by Charles Alauzet. He had already been at the market quite a while by the time they passed by. Charles knew that Tori loved to walk markets like this and he had hoped she would be there alone despite knowing that Tony was in town. Since Tony was with her, he didn’t approach but kept watch from a distance.

“That wasn’t what I expected,” Tony told her as they walked into Tori’s apartment.

“Some of us like to eat more than Cap’n Crunch,” she said with a laugh.

“I eat more than Cap’n Crunch,” he protested.

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot the take-out pizza and Chinese,” she shot back as she put a bag down on the kitchen table.

After putting everything she bought at market away, Tori entered the living room and found Tony looking at another photo album. “Did you take all these?” Tony asked.

“Most of them,” she replied, looking down to find him paging through photos from her time in Paris.

“You look really happy,” he said without looking up while looking at a photo of her at the Arc de Triomphe. “Do you ever think about going back?”

Tori sighed as she looked at the photo, “Once in a while it crosses my mind.”

“Would you?” he asked, thinking back to what Charles Alauzet had told him the previous night regarding the job offer Tori was considering. As he spoke, Tori’s cell phone rang again. She picked it up, glanced at the number and put it to voicemail.

“Are we talking a vacation or to live?” she questioned him.

“To live, like you used to,” Tony replied, noticing but not mentioning the unanswered phone calls.

"I don’t know,” she answered uncertainly. “Things are so different now.”

“What do you mean?” he probed.

“Is this an interrogation?” Tori questioned back.

“Indulge my curiosity,” Tony answered with a smile.

“Tony, I was a kid then,” she answered slowly. “It was all a grand adventure; college in Paris. At the same time, I hardly saw my family the entire time I was there and my sister decided she would never speak to me again because of it. Abby and I were always close and that hurt.”

“But despite of all that you stayed; even longer than just a year,” he responded seriously.

“I made the choice to stay there,” Tori nodded in agreement. “I don’t regret that decision at all, but I’m not the person I was then. I grew up.”

Tony smiled, content for the moment, and changed the subject. “So, where was this one taken?”

The early afternoon passed as they looked through photo albums and idly chatted, both carefully avoiding what was foremost in both their minds: Tori’s job offer.

“When are you going back?” Tori asked.

“I have a flight booked for tomorrow afternoon,” Tony replied. “Why?”

“It seems like you just arrived,” she responded. “I feel like I’ve hardly seen you.”

“I’m right here, Vic,” he answered and then blurted out. “I’m sorry I forgot about the exhibition opening.”

“It’s alright,” she told him with a shrug, “You’re busy fighting crime and all that kind of important stuff.”

“It was important to you, and you told me more than once. I should’ve remembered,” he said with a half a smile. She replied with a kiss.  

Later that day, they went out and Tori showed Tony more of the city. As they were walking, Tori’s cell phone rang. As earlier in the day, she glanced at the screen but didn’t answer. Tony noticed her reaction, but said nothing. A half hour later, the phone rang again and received the same treatment. “Why don’t you answer that already?” Tony asked slightly annoyed. 

“Because I’m here with you, and I don’t get to see you every day,” she replied.

“If you answer it and tell him to leave you alone, he might stop calling,” he snapped back and started walking faster.

“Using your psychic powers again?” Tori retorted and quickened her step to keep up. “Maybe I don’t want to talk to him right now.”

“Why not?” he shot back. “Don’t want to discuss your new job in front of me?”

“What new job?” she exclaimed.

“The job you’re considering taking … in France,” Tony replied, with more than a touch of angry sarcasm.

“Tony, I’m not,” she interjected, suddenly understanding his questions earlier.

“Don’t tell me there isn’t a job,” he said cutting her off as he suddenly stopped walking. “I know all about it. Charles told me last night.”

“Charles told you?” Tori said slowly as she searched Tony’s eyes. “Did he also tell you I turned it down? Well?”

“He said you were giving it some serious thought,” Tony replied finally. “And it looks like you are, since you didn’t even tell me about it.”

“I said no. Immediately,” she told him emphatically. “I’m happy; I like my job, the city, the fact that my sister speaks to me. Did Charles happen to tell you I said that I was content with my life … and you?”

“No,” Tony answered shortly. He believed Tori was being honest, but on some level he didn’t want to accept her words as truth.

“You should know better,” Tori stated.

“Should I?” he asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she responded with a shake of her head.

“You don’t tell me that he’s here. You don’t tell me he offered you a job. I’m starting to wonder what else you aren’t telling me,” he listed slowly.

“Like what?” she pressed, her eyes wide and incredulous.

“Like maybe you had more than just lunch,” Tony said without thinking and instantly regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

“Go to hell, Anthony DiNozzo,” Tori said loudly and quickly dashed away.

Tony took off after her, but lost Tori in a crowd as she crossed a street. Seconds later, his cell phone began to ring; he pulled it out of his pocket and answered without looking, “Hey, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Abby’s voice asked in his ear.

“Oh, Abby, it’s you,” he said looking at his phone with surprise and disappointment.

“Yeah, it’s me,” she replied her usual cheerful self. “Tell Tori that the skirt she sent me is perfect. I’ve been trying to get hold of her all weekend; she’s not answering her phone.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her, Abby,” Tony said regretting his earlier thoughts and words even more as he heard her words.

“Wait; give her your phone. Let me tell her,” Abby pressed on, forcing Tony to say what he had been avoiding.

“She’s not here,” he admitted.

“Oh, okay, we can talk ‘til she gets back,” Abby said cheerfully. “Unless she’s shoe shopping; that could take a while. I should’ve warned you about that but I guess you’ve seen her closet by now.”

“Abbs, I don’t know where she is,” Tony admitted morosely.

“What do you mean you don’t know where she is? You’re in Montréal, right?” Abby asked.

“Yes, I’m still in Montréal,” he said hesitating. “Um...”

“Tony, what’s going on?” Abby asked directly.

Tony recounted the recent events to Abby. Realizing it wouldn’t help the situation, Abby said nothing to him about knowing about all about Tori’s job offer. After ending the call with Abby, Tony headed towards Tori’s apartment. He knew that eventually she would go home; he hoped that it was before he ended up sleeping in his rental car for the night. When he reached the apartment, he steeled himself, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Tori looked through the peephole and quietly opened the door. Once the door was open, she turned and headed to her bedroom without saying a word or even looking at Tony. He closed the door without a sound and tried to think of what to say. “Victoria, I’m sorry,” he said loud enough for her to hear and then followed her into the bedroom, tossing his jacket on the sofa. He found her sitting on the bed, pillows tucked behind her, knees pulled up to her chest. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t have more than lunch.”

“Then why say it?” Tori asked. When she looked up at him, he could see her eyes were slightly red from crying. “I know I’m far from a prude but I have never screwed around on anyone and I’m not about to start now.

“I truly am sorry for what I said. All I keep doing is wondering why you didn’t tell me about the job,” he replied. “What’s the big secret?”

“Mon Dieu. Tony there is no big secret. I didn’t say anything because there wasn’t anything,” she retorted. “There was a vague mention of an opening coming up at Cluny. I don’t know when, or what the pay or perks may be. If you know, feel free to share, because if they’re doubling my salary I’d be stupid not to consider it.”

“I don’t know anything,” Tony admitted slowly and sat down next to her. “Charles just told me that there was there was a job, that it would be a perfect opportunity for you and that you were considering it.”

“Instead of getting all letting it bother you, you could’ve asked me right then,” Tori countered.

“I don’t know why I didn’t ask,” he said quickly and stood up again. As he paced back and forth across the room he said, “Maybe because I was afraid it was true and if I didn’t ask, it wouldn’t be.”

“Well, it’s not true. Please sit down, you’re making me nervous,” Tori replied. Tony sat back down on the bed next to her again as she continued. “You were so upset and angry that Charles was even here, I didn’t want to upset you more over nothing.”

“Victoria, he pretty much asked you to move back to France with him. You think that’s nothing?” Tony asked.

“After everything we’ve talked about and all you know about me, what makes you think that I would go back to Paris with Charles, job or no job?” she questioned him. “I didn’t fly down to DC when you were lying in a hospital because I had nothing better to do that night, Anthony DiNozzo.”

“I know that,” he sighed.

“Then what?” Tori asked with exasperation.

“I just had it all planned in my head,” Tony explained. “I was going to get to your office and sweep you off your feet this weekend. The reality was an empty office and you were having lunch with an old boyfriend, who it turns out, offered you a job… near him.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she asked and shook her head in disbelief.

“Get what?” he asked angrily, not ready to admit defeat or even call a truce.

“I like you,” she said.

“Umm, yeah, I get that. After all, you did fly down to see me in the hospital in the middle of the night,” he said sarcastically, causing Tori to raise her eyebrows and look at him with a slight amused smile playing around her mouth, despite her annoyance.

“No, I don’t think you do get it. At the risk of sounding fourteen again, I _like_ like you, Tony,” Tori said deliberately, resisting the urge to shoot back a sarcastic reply. “Charles could offer me the head position at the Louvre right now and I’m not going. You need to realize I’m not the fiancée who called off the wedding out of the blue and I’m not walking away and leaving you because an old boyfriend is in town for a few days.”

Tony remained silent for a few minutes and then began pacing again. Deep down, he knew that Tori was being honest when she said she wasn’t interested in the job – or Charles – and that his response was mostly motivated by a slight twinge of jealousy but he wasn’t about to say it aloud. “I wish you would’ve told me about the job. I don’t understand why you didn’t say anything.”

“I’m used to handling things myself, Tony. I’ve pretty much been doing that since I was nineteen minus being married for a while, and that didn’t exactly end the way anyone expected. I know that doesn’t make it any easier for you to understand. If you’re still upset with me, that’s okay. I’m still a little upset about what you implied earlier about me,” she said as she stood up next to him, kissed him on the cheek and then whispered in his ear. “I’m glad you’re a little jealous, too.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said. Tori looked at him with a look saying she knew otherwise as he recanted and admitted, “Well, maybe I am just a little. I don’t do this very well.”

“Don’t do what very well?” she asked having no idea what he meant.

“Relationships,” Tony stated. “I usually screw everything up, and I’m trying really hard not to screw everything up with you.”

“Tony, I’m not sure anyone does relationships well; you kind of figure it out as you go along,” Tori replied. “And nothing’s screwed up.”

“Good,” he said and pulled her close for a quick kiss. “You didn’t screw up anything either. You gotta learn to trust me, Vic. I’m not planning on running away from you either.”

“And Tony,” she said quietly. “For your information, you can’t sweep me off my feet. It’s too late.”

“Only one guy gets that privilege and I’m too late, right?” Tony asked with a dejected look on his face.

“You’re too late because I was swept off my feet somewhere between burgers at a sports bar in DC and a walk along the St. Lawrence,” Tori replied as she gazed into his eyes.

“Really?” he asked and looked at her wide eyed.

“Yes, really. My head’s been fighting my heart for a while,” Tori replied as her cell phone rang.

“Don’t answer it,” Tony told her as she broke the embrace and turned to the phone that was sitting on the nightstand.

“You realize this all started between us because I wasn’t answering my phone?” she asked. “Now you’re telling me to let it ring.”

“This is make-up time,” he told her as he gently pulled her back.

“As much as I can’t wait for you to make it up to me, if I don’t answer it won’t stop,” she said, certain it was Abby calling again. She pulled away and put the call on speakerphone while gesturing to Tony to be quiet. “What’s up Abby?”

“Where are you?” Abby asked impatiently.

“Home,” Tori replied and winked at Tony. “Why?”

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Tony’s looking for you, too,” Abby’s voice responded through the phone.

“I’m sure he’s fine Abby,” Tori answered as she pulled off her t-shirt, her eyes still locked with Tony’s.

“Tor, I don’t know, he was pretty upset when we talked,” Abby told her sister. Upon hearing Abby’s words, Tori silently mouthed ‘Really?’ then slowly kissed him. When she pulled back slightly, she put her finger to his lips.

“He’s a big boy, Abbs,” Tori said aloud as her fingers undid the belt on Tony’s pants. “I’m sure he’ll turn up any minute.”

“Tori, you don’t understand. He was really upset and now he’s not answering his phone either,” Abby protested. “Maybe he’s lost.”

“Maybe he’s in a loud bar. Abby, I promise I will call him as soon as you hang up,” Tori told her sister as Tony’s finger traced a line down her neck, across her collarbone and then tugged at a bra strap. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Abby replied with some relief. “Call me back. Let me know that you found him and he’s alright.”

“I will Abbs,” Tori said and disconnected the call. Then she turned her attention back to Tony. “You have more to make up for than I thought, very special agent Anthony DiNozzo. One little tiff and you called my sister?”

“Wait a sec,” Tony protested. “Why am I making things up to you? You were the one who didn’t tell me about the job, remember?”

“You’re the one who jumped to conclusions, and you called Abby,” Tori explained as she pulled his shirt over his head. “This could take a while.”

“Hours?” he asked with a wicked smile.

“Maybe,” she replied with a slight shrug. “Do you think you can handle it?”

“Can you?” he asked laughing and set about tugging down the other strap of her bra. “And for the record, I didn’t call Abby, she called me.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Hi,” Tori smiled as she looked up from the French press coffee pot she had just filled.

“Good morning,” Tony replied. “Have you been up long?”

“Once a morning person, always a morning person,” she responded with a slight yawn. “Hazelnut today.”

“I knew I’d rub off on you sooner or later,” he told her as she retrieved two mugs from the cupboard and placed them on the counter. “You know Abby isn’t going to be too happy when she finds out I was already here yesterday when she spoke to you,”

“So, don’t tell her,” Tori said plainly. “I know you and Abby have your own mutual admiration society and that’s great. I love my sister and wouldn’t trade her…”

“But…,” he interjected and waited for her to continue.

“But,” she went on, “She needs to take two steps back, especially where you’re concerned. Fight or no fight, when one of us doesn’t answer her call immediately, INTERPOL does not need to be contacted. I know she wants us to work out, so do I and I hope you do, too, but she can’t keep butting in or trying to fix things which may not need fixing. I’d like to think we can manage pretty well ourselves. I will call her tonight and talk to her, until then the text I sent last night is going to have to do.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe Abby is afraid you’re going to stop speaking to her again?” he explained patiently as Tori handed him a cup of coffee. “The last time you two stopped talking, you were out of her life for years.”

“Calling me every half hour does not give me warm and fuzzy feelings,” Tori replied. “But, point taken.”

“If she didn’t act that way, it wouldn’t be Abby,” he said with a smile and then took a sip of coffee. “This is good.”

“With as much sugar as you put in, Louisiana bayou mud would taste good,” Tori stated shaking her head.

“I was thinking,” Tony said to Tori as they were eating breakfast. “Why don’t I fly back tomorrow instead of tonight?”

“How mad is Gibbs gonna get if you do that?” she asked as she pulled apart a croissant. “He doesn’t seem like he appreciates having no notice of things like that, which I find somewhat amusing considering.”

“Well, there is that small thing,” he agreed with a small laugh. “How long did it take him to convince you to come down to see me in the hospital anyway?”

“Not as long as you think,” Tori chuckled. “He made a good argument.”

“Maybe you were afraid to say no,” Tony teased.

“Why? I don’t work for him,” she replied with a laugh.

A short time later that morning, they went out for a walk around the city. “You’re not going to run away again are you?” Tony asked as they strolled along arm in arm.

“Are you going to say something stupid again?” Tori questioned with a smile.

“I’ve been told that’s always a possibility with me,” he replied.

Tori smiled at him and stopped walking. “Even if I did run, you know where I’m going to end up eventually,” she told him. “Now you don’t have to knock.”

“You’re sure about this?” he asked as he took the key to her apartment that she handed him.

“Yes,” she replied. “I’m pretty sure Sylvie will be happy, too, when she figures it out.”

“I didn’t realize it was key exchange weekend,” Tony said trying to keep things light.

“There’s no pressure or strings attached to the key, Tony,” Tori told him. “Why should you be trying to find somewhere to go until I’m done at work when you arrive? When I’m in DC, I can hang at my mom’s for a while which makes her very happy, believe me.”

They walked along in a comfortable silence until Tony suddenly stopped and asked, “Why don’t you trust me?”

“That’s not true,” she answered. “I would trust you with my life.”

“Just not with your heart,” he replied.

“Put yourself in my place. Would you?” Tori asked him.

“Well … given my history I guess not,” he replied thoughtfully. “However, you did have an unfair advantage of knowing all about me; it may have caused some bias.”

“If I gave serious consideration to what everyone said, I would’ve shot you down immediately,” she explained. “No pizza, no small talk, no nothing.”

“You said that you’re not the same person you were when you lived in France, well, I’m not the same person I was years ago either,” Tony said.

Tori smiled upon hearing his words, traced her hand along the side of his face, and then tucked her arm into his again as they resumed walking. “You up for poutine?”

After they returned to Tori’s apartment, Tony sat on the sofa and gazed off at nothing in particular.

“Everything okay?” Tori asked after a few minutes.

“Yes and no; I want to stay but I know I should be at the office tomorrow,” he replied. “You’re right, Gibbs will be mad but I should be able to take a day or two off when I want. What should I do?”

“I’m not answering that one,” Tori said as she sat down next to him.

“Thanks,” Tony answered wryly.

“Tony, I would always want you to stay, responsibilities or not,” she said gently. “However, I also don’t want you getting in any trouble with Gibbs. I’m also not supporting you if you get fired.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled.

“I can’t take off tomorrow with so little notice. I’ve already played that card not too long ago,” she stated hoping her words would give him some peace with his decision. “And there was that matter of Gibbs borrowing me for a few days. I’ve used up special exceptions for the moment.”

“Help me pack?” he asked and stood up. A short time later, Tony was ready to leave for the airport with a somewhat lighter bag than he came with after deciding to leave a few things.

“You don’t have to come to the airport,” he told Tori as he grabbed his jacket.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s no trouble.”

“By time I drop off the rental, I’d hardly get to see you for long anyway,” he said.

“As long as you’re sure,” Tori replied, put her arms around him and kissed him slowly. “I miss you already.”

“I’ll call you when I get home,” he told her and then kissed her again. “I better get going before I change my mind.”

* * *

 

Tori just sat down at her desk Monday morning when her cell phone rang.

“Hi!” said Tony’s voice in her ear. “What are you doing?”

“Good morning to you, too,” she replied. “I just got in. What’s wrong? You never call at this time.”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong; it’s all quiet here, that’s what’s wrong,” he muttered. “Why can’t someone turn up dead?”

“You didn’t just say that, did you?” Tori asked as she shook her head.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” he replied angrily. “If I had known it was going to be this quiet, I would’ve stayed with you.”

“Tony, remember those cases where you get three, four hours of sleep in two days?” she said trying to bring some sense to the conversation. “Enjoy the down time.”

“I guess you’re right,” he muttered.

“I’ve got an inbox full of messages I have to get to and a pile of papers on my desk. Call me later?” Tori asked.

“Of course. Au revoir, mia bella,” he replied.

After hanging up, Tori started in on answering her emails and the stack of papers she had been ignoring since the previous Thursday. About halfway through, she decided to take a break and go for a walk. Upon entering one of the galleries, she spied Georges and stopped to say hello.

“Bonjour, Tori,” Georges said quietly. “Où est ton chum?”

“Georges, really?” she asked with a smile.

“Tony,” he laughed. “He’s not here?”

“He’s back at work,” she told him with amusement. “Not too happy about it either.”

“I wouldn’t be happy leaving you here with an old boyfriend wandering around,” Georges replied.

“How do you know about that?” Tori inquired.

“I talked with Tony the other night,” he told her seriously. “He was, ahh, not pleased that the old boyfriend was hanging on you. I told him he didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“I told him that, too,” she answered.

“Tony seems like a nice guy, Tori; it’s nice to see you smile again,” Georges said. “I think you should keep him around.”

“You sound like my mother,” Tori told him with a laugh. “I had better get back. I’ll tell Tony you said hello.”

* * *

 

Back at NCIS, Tony was doing his own wandering and ended up in autopsy. “Hey Duck,” he said.

“Anthony, you’ve returned,” Ducky replied. “How was Montréal?”

“Rocky start, better finish,” he answered honestly. “I forgot Vic had an exhibition opening.”

“I’m sure Victoria will forgive you, Anthony,” Ducky told him. “She is familiar with the stress of your job.”

“She already has, Ducky,” Tony said with a small smile. “I think she half expected me to forget.”

“Then what was the problem, my boy?” Ducky wondered aloud.

“Old boyfriend showed up at the museum,” Tony said succinctly.

“Surely you realize that you aren’t the first man she has gone out with,” Ducky said gently.

“Yes, Ducky, I know that,” Tony explained. “But this was an old, old boyfriend, before she moved to Montréal, got married and all that. He flew in from France.”

“What did Victoria say about it?” the medical examiner asked with a raised eyebrow.

“She told me I have nothing to be worried about,” Tony said quietly. “She thinks I overreacted.”

“Did you?” Ducky asked.

“No. Yes,” Tony replied quickly and then added. “Maybe.”

Ducky chuckled as Abby appeared on the phone asking for Tony. As the agent left autopsy to go to Abby’s lab he said, almost to himself, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”


	8. Chapter 8

Later Monday afternoon, Tori was called into her supervisor’s office for a meeting. After she and Jean-Paul had a short discussion on the exhibition opening, he had some news for her. “We’re going to have a visitor for a month or so,” he stated.

“A visitor?” she asked wondering who would be visiting for an extended period of time.

“Yes. Charles, please come in,” Jean-Paul said loudly so he could be heard in the adjoining room. “Charles is going to stay on for about a month and help me finalize some acquisitions. He tells me that the both of you are already acquainted.”

“Yes, we know each other,” Tori replied and slowly exhaled.

“Victoria, you’re looking well today,” Charles said with a smile.

“Charles,” Tori said shortly with a slight nod of her head.

After Charles excused himself from the office, Tori tried to determine how this all came about. “Is he really staying here for a month?” she asked Jean-Paul.

“Yes, it will be a great help for me. He knows some people I haven’t been able to make contact with,” Jean-Paul replied. “Is there a problem?”

“Not exactly,” she answered, not wanting to disclose her prior personal relationship with Charles unless absolutely necessary. “He did want me to consider a position opening up at the Cluny, which I turned down. Since I haven’t spoken to Charles in years, him offering me a job right off seems a little strange.  The whole situation has me a bit uncomfortable for the moment.”

“Victoria, I assure you, he isn’t here to take your place,” Jean-Paul assured her. “Is there anything I can do to make this more comfortable for you?”

“As long as I don’t have to share an office with him, I think I will be fine,” Tori told him.

When Tori arrived back at her apartment that evening, she haphazardly tossed her bag and kicked off her shoes almost as soon as she entered the door. She walked over to a small end table that she had filled with framed photographs. The most recent addition to the group was the one of Tony which she had placed in the front; near it was a photo of Abby, her brother, and the rest of her family. Directly behind the front row was a photo of Jeremie. She picked up the Jeremie’s photo and looked at it for a few seconds while slowly shaking her head. “Jeremie Thériault, I know you are really enjoying this and probably laughing your ass off, but it’s not funny,” she said aloud to the picture before placing it back in its place.

As she watched TV later that evening, Tori dreaded the moment when her phone would ring. She knew she would have to tell Tony that Charles was staying in town for about another month. After the events that occurred over the weekend she had a feeling that he wouldn’t take the news well. As she sat there thinking about how to broach the subject, her cell phone rang.

“Bonsoir, chèr,” Tori said. “I hope your day went well.”

“I took your advice and enjoyed the down time,” Tony told her. “How was your day?”

“Not as uneventful as yours,” she replied trying to think how to tell him. Taking a deep breath, she decided to plunge right in. “We’re getting an addition to our department for a month.”

“Really? Like an intern?” he asked eagerly. “You got yourself an assistant? I hope if it’s a he, he’s bookish and wears thick glasses.”

“Firstly, I don’t have an assistant. Jean-Paul does,” she told him. “Secondly, I’m bookish and used to wear thick glasses, so you might want to think twice about playing an insult a nerd card, Anthony DiNozzo, or the odds will no longer be in your favor.”

“I’m only kidding. You’re the sexiest nerd I’ve ever met and you managed a movie reference, too, so you score extra points,” Tony replied quickly hoping to smooth over his gaffe. “Have you met this assistant yet?”

“Ahhh, yeah; so have you,” Tori answered with a short hesitant laugh. “It’s Charles.”

“Charles?” he asked slowly. “As in your ex, Charles.”

“That would be the one,” she replied almost wincing as she held the phone and waited for his reply.

“Why is he staying there for a month again?” he pressed, the playfulness in his voice replaced with anger.

“He’s helping Jean-Paul with some acquisitions,” she told him hoping to keep the conversation calm. “Like I said, it has nothing to do with me.”

“I would hazard a guess that it does, Victoria. He could hardly take his eyes off you,” Tony said directly. “I knew I should’ve stayed.”

“You don’t trust me?” Tori asked somewhat accusatory.

“No. I don’t trust him,” he replied. “There’s a difference.”

“Everything will be fine,” she explained, doing her best to sound convincing. “I did tell Jean-Paul that I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation.”

“Good, for starters,” he said shortly. “Any chance he leaves early?”

“It’s only been a day,” she answered.

“One day too long,” Tony shot back.

“Can we please talk about something else now?” Tori asked. “I want this month to pass just as quickly as you, believe me.”

* * *

 

The next morning when Tori walked into her office she found Charles sitting in the chair across from her desk.

“Bonjour Victoria, comment as-tu?” Charles said with a smile as she walked to her desk.

“Good morning, Charles and how are you?” she replied deliberately answering in English.

“Settling in,” he told her. “I trust you had a good weekend.”

“Yes, after all the preparation for the opening, it was nice to relax,” Tori said trying her best to remain civil.

“It did go well,” he said. “I do hope Tony appreciates all the work you did to put it together.”

“He does,” she assured him with a smile as she sat down. “Is Jean-Paul not in yet?”

“He had a phone call to make,” Charles said.

“So you decided to wait here?” Tori asked with astonishment.

“I know you like to get an early start and thought we might talk,” he replied seriously.

Tori looked at him wide-eyed across her desk. She was just about to say something to him when she was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She picked up the phone to answer it.

“Hello,” she said and stood up. “Must still be quiet there.”

“Hello to you, too,” Tony’s voice said through the phone. “You must not be able to talk … or you’re upset with me. Are you upset with me? You realized that your black silk nightgown is missing?”

As Tony was speaking, Tori headed towards the door to her office and walked into the hallway. “Have I ever been upset with you?” she asked with a laugh. “Anthony DiNozzo upset me? Why is my black silk nightgown missing?”

“And now you’re able to talk,” he replied. “I took it so you don’t have to pack anything next time you visit.”

“How very thoughtful of you. And here I thought you liked me for my mind,” she answered with a laugh, before becoming serious. “Are you going to call me every morning for the next month?”

“For the record, I have talked to you every morning for quite some time now,” Tony stated.

“Good morning texts, while appreciated, don’t count,” Tori told him as Gibbs voice saying ‘grab your gear’ echoed in the background.

“I’ve gotta go, talk to you later,” Tony said quickly.

“Bye,” she answered, grateful that Tony would be occupied for the rest of the day. Mon Dieu, she said to herself as she walked back to her office, I’m getting as bad as him.

Charles was still sitting in her office when she returned. “I hope everything is okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Tori replied shortly as Jean-Paul walked in through the other door looking for Charles.

* * *

 

“You know you don’t have to call me every morning,” Tori said into the phone as she spoke with Tony later that evening.

“I know,” he replied. “But yesterday was really slow and today I just wanted to say hi.”

“Just wanted to say hi, hmmm?” she said, not believing him for a second. However, she also didn’t want to end up in an argument. “How was your day?”

“Swell. Dead Marine in Rock Creek Park,” Tony told her. “I won’t have a minute’s rest until we figure this one out. And, we’re on call this weekend.”

His answer made Tori laugh and caused him to ask, “What’s so funny?”

“First, work’s too slow, then you’re not getting a minute’s rest. Are you ever happy, Anthony?” she questioned.

“I’m happy when you’re around,” he said honestly.

“Good answer,” she said with a chuckle. “I was being serious though.”

“So was I,” he countered. “However, if you insist, a Hitchcock marathon puts me in a good mood. Sausage, pepperoni, and double cheese pizza, mmmm, that also brings a smile.”

“I’m on equal footing with pizza, I should’ve quit while I was ahead,” Tori mused.

“You did ask,” he told her. “How’d your day go or am I better off not knowing?”

“It was alright. It’s going to take a while to get used to the situation, I guess,” she stated. “I hope. Maybe.”

“Was there a problem, Vic?” Tony asked seriously.

“No. It’s just me,” she answered. “When I close a chapter of my life, I like it to stay closed and not come back to work with me. It’s like a bad zombie movie.”

“Interesting analogy. Can’t say that I see it like that,” he replied. “If there’s a problem, you need to tell me.”

“I will,” Tori said and changed the subject. “Since you’re on call this weekend, could I interest you in a movie date Friday night?”

“I hate working the weekends,” Tony muttered.

“I could think of better things to do – especially with you,” she agreed and yawned.

“Do share,” he answered, suddenly less grumbly.

“Remind me on a weekend you’re not working,” she teased. “You can pick the flick, just let me know.”


	9. Chapter 9

On Friday afternoon as Tori was walking back to her office after returning from lunch, Sylvie called out to her, “Victoria! Come back!” Tori stopped and backtracked a few steps over to where Sylvie was sitting.

“You had a delivery while you were out,” Sylvie told her with a big smile. “I put it on your desk; I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Tori replied.  ”Thank you!”

Tori walked into her office expecting to see a box sitting on her desk; instead, there was a vase of brightly colored flowers. Remembering the flowers from the previous week, she hesitated to even look at them. After taking a deep breath, she walked around her desk and sat down noticing that there was a card tucked in between the blossoms. She steeled herself for the worst and reached for the envelope; Tori then slowly pulled the card out and read it. She tossed the small envelope in the trash can and put the card on her desk before pulling out her cell phone.

“Can you talk?” Tori said into her phone.

“I think I can give you a minute or two,” Tony replied teasingly. “To what do I owe this afternoon chat?”

“You know exactly what you owe this afternoon chat to,” she said impatiently. “They’re beautiful!”

“Oh, the flowers,” he said nonchalantly. “They didn’t have anything black.”

“I’m not Abby,” Tori told him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you weren’t sleeping in a coffin.”

“Oh, I noticed. I checked when I got there,” he confessed as she laughed. “If there was one, I was going to be sleeping on the sofa and I didn’t really want to tell you that.”

“I don’t believe you thought I slept in a coffin,” she said. “But, I guess after your in-depth tattoo inspection I had to undergo, I should’ve expected as much.”

“You enjoyed the in-depth tattoo inspection,” Tony replied quietly.

“Well…yes…next time you see me, you should check again, just in case,” Tori told him and changed the subject. “You made a good movie choice, too.”

“Glad you got the reference,” he replied.

“Really? Here’s looking at you kid,” she protested. “Who wouldn’t get that one?”

“Next time I’ll make it more of a challenge,” he said with a laugh. “Shall we say 7:30?”

“That sounds great. Talk to you later, chèr,” Tori answered.

As Tori was preparing to leave work later that afternoon Charles walked into her office. “Do you have plans for the weekend?” he asked her.

“Always,” she replied shortly, grabbed the vase of flowers and started walking towards the door.

“No Tony?” he inquired as he watched her pick up the flowers. He then followed her out into the hallway.

“He’s working,” Tori answered.

“That’s must be difficult since you are so far apart,” Charles declared.

“Odd hours come with the job; I’m used to it by now,” she told him. She didn’t go into any detail about how well she was acquainted with the men in her life having to work all hours of the day and night.

“Maybe we could have a drink and dinner tonight?” Charles inquired after finding out that Tony was not in town. “This way you won’t have to spend the night alone.”

“No, we cannot and I never said I’m spending tonight alone,” Tori replied elusively as she walked to her car, “If I’m lucky I’ll have just enough time to get home and get ready.” She deliberately left out the fact that getting ready included grabbing a quick dinner, donning comfy pajamas, making some popcorn and uncorking a bottle of wine.

“I hope you have a good weekend, Victoria,” he told her as he held the vase while she got into the vehicle.

“Thank you. You too,” she responded in reply and took the flowers out of his hands.

* * *

 

Despite spending a good part of Friday evening speaking with Tony on the phone while watching the movie, Tori was up and wide awake early the next morning. She made a quick breakfast of a croissant and strawberry preserves, showered and dressed, and then headed out to the Jean Talon Market. Near an entrance she met up with Jeremie’s sister, Maryse, and 9-year-old niece, Élodie. Unbeknownst to anyone, Charles was at the market again. He watched Tori intently but again stayed a distance away and did not reveal his presence to her.

After spending some time browsing, shopping, and idly chatting at the market, the trio walked a short distance to nearby Caffe Italia for coffee and some lunch. Charles watched them walk over to the café before walking away in the opposite direction.

* * *

 

Tori was eating lunch at her desk that Monday when Charles walked into her office.

“I thought that we could possibly have lunch today,” he said as his eyes went to her open container. “But I see you are already eating.”

“It’s easier than fighting traffic, and my shoes are not made for walking today,” she replied off-handedly.

“You must have found something good at market,” he stated casually causing Tori to stop mid-bite. She put down the chicken lettuce wrap that she had been enjoying and looked up at him.

“How do you know I was at the market?” Tori demanded. “You followed me?”

“Victoria, how could I follow you? I have no idea where you live. I was looking around the city,” he explained to her.

“And you decided to go to a market?” Tori asked incredulous. “Why here? Why now? You always avoided them.”

“As I said I was looking around. I didn’t want to disturb you; I saw you were there with friends,” he told her plainly.

“Family. I was there with family,” she corrected. “Montreal is pretty big, lots to see, and you just decided to go to market?”

“It didn’t look like your sister from what I remember,” Charles said, ignoring Tori’s question.

“It wasn’t my sister,” she said angrily. “You know very well my sister is in Washington DC.”

“I also know you only have one sister, Victoria,” came his deliberate answer.

“And?” she challenged him.

“You said it was family,” he said calmly.

“That was my family,” Tori replied trying to keep her voice low. “My sister-in-law and niece.”

“You said your husband passed away,” Charles replied.

“Yes. And I told you I am still close with his family. “We talk, see each other, do holidays, the kids stay with me sometimes; the same as when Jeremie was alive,” she explained and then demanded. “Why were you at the market?”

Before Charles could answer her, Jean-Paul walked in looking for him.

* * *

 

“Hey Abbs,” Tori said into the phone.

“Tori?” Abby replied hesitantly. “You know we just talked yesterday?”

“I know that,” Tori replied. “I can’t call my sister on Mondays?”

“Is everything ok with you and Tony?” Abby asked prematurely since it was odd for Tori to call her two days in a row. “I know it’s none of my business and I know I shouldn’t be asking, but you’re calling me again.”

“Everything’s fine,” Tori assured her. “Why would you think there’s a problem?”

“Because you’re talking to me right now and not him,” Abby said exasperatedly.

“I already tried that. His father called while we were on the phone and I told Tony to take his call. I assured him that we’ll both survive the night,” Tori told her sister. “I think I also finally managed to convince him to not call me every morning.”

“Do you really blame Tony for that, given the recent circumstances?” Abby asked seriously.

“No, I guess not,” Tori admitted. “He’s there; I’m here. He says he trusts me, just not Charles. Tony also thinks there’s more to Charles being here than the job offer.”

“He is the cop and that’s the way he thinks. A wise person told me that,” Abby replied half teasing with words Tori had said once to Abby. “What’s your take on the situation?”

“At first I thought it was the job offer and nothing else, but after today I don’t know,” Tori admitted and went on to tell Abby about the day’s events.

“What are you going to do?” Abby questioned.

“I don’t know right now,” Tori said. “Abby, you have to promise you won’t tell Tony.”

“Tori, that’s not fair,” Abby protested. “Remember, you didn’t tell him about Charles being in town and look what happened. How do you think this is going to end up when he finds out?”

“Abby, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to tell him,” Tori explained.  “I just don’t want _you_ to tell him, and this is me, your sister asking not some coworker or random friend.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Abby asked angrily.

“I know you. You and other people’s secrets don’t really mix,” Tori told her sister. “You tell everyone everything. Remember Alexander Arnot in high school? Dad didn’t let me out of his sight for months.”

“That’s because people shouldn’t have secrets and you should not be keeping things from Tony. Tony is a big softie inside, no matter how well he hides it and he likes you a lot. Don’t you hurt him like that,” Abby retorted and then reminisced. “Alex was a cutie; I wonder what ever happened with him?”

“I don’t need anyone else from my past popping up right now,” Tori said. “Abby, I will tell Tony, just not tonight; he’s dealing with his father and you’ve seen how that goes. You tell me, is it as bad as it sounds?”

“Okay, you have a point,” Abby admitted. “But Tori, you have to tell him soon.”


	10. Chapter 10

The events of the previous day and her conversation with Abby filled Tori’s thoughts while she was at work and stay with her later into the evening while she was at home. After mulling it over for an hour or two after work, Tori picked up her phone and called Tony.

“Well, Victoria Theriault, to what do I owe this call?” Tony asked when he answered.

“You make it sound like I never call you,” she replied. “Do I need a reason? Maybe I just miss you?”

“You could,” he admitted. “You probably do. Who wouldn’t miss me?”

“Last time I try to be nice and give you a call…say hello…see how your day was…make sure you remember to feed the fish,” Tori said teasing.

“You can call anytime, even when you don’t miss me,” he answered.

“I know,” she said and chuckled. “Everything go okay with your father?”

“Everything is just grand, as usual. I should’ve talked with you instead,” Tony said and proceeded to relate the details of his conversation with his father. Many minutes later he finished his rant. “Are you still there? I’ve probably put you to sleep.”

“I’m still here and no, I’m not sleeping. You can vent for however long you need,” Tori told him. “He sounds like a very interesting person.”

“Interesting?” he repeated with frustration. “Are you sure you weren’t sleeping because the conversation I had with him was far from interesting?”

“Tony, it’s your father … who I have never met,” she replied calmly. “What did you expect me to say?”

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Anyway, Vic, you called me. What’s up?”

Tori inhaled deeply before she began telling Tony about Charles seeing her at the market that weekend.

“He saw you at the market but didn’t say anything until you were at work and turned down lunch?” Tony asked her.

“Yes,” Tori replied. “This is the part where you tell me I’m over-reacting and it was all a big coincidence.”

“Rule number 39,” Tony said slowly. “There is no such thing as coincidence. I should be up there with you.”

“So you can tell him he can’t go to a public place because I might be there?” Tori asked.

“No,” Tony answered seriously. “So I can tell him there are laws against stalking and that last I checked you are, as far as I can tell, happily involved with someone.”

“It was one time. For all we know he actually was wandering around town,” she said hesitantly. “Calm down.”

“You lived with him for how long?” he replied hoping that Tori would see where his arguments were coming from. “He might know you better than I do. I don’t think it was wandering. If I’ve got time to waste in a new town, I’m not going to the market – especially not early in the morning. Unless, of course, there’s someone there I hope to see. Someone who I know is an admitted morning person.”

“I doubt he knows me that well,” she challenged. “It’s been a long time, Tony. I have changed some.”

“Victoria, this is serious,” he told her. “If he is following you or even if he’s not and just making good guesses about where you go, who knows what else he’ll do.”

“Yes, IF,” she said strongly. “It was the market. You might not believe it but the whole situation bothers me … a lot. However, he didn’t mention anything else, and I haven’t seen Charles anywhere other than at the museum.”

“I’d like to keep it that way,” Tony told her simultaneously jealous while wanting to protect her.

“That makes two of us,” she said. “Tony, I promise if anything else happens or is said I will tell you, but you have to promise me you won’t come rushing up here like the proverbial bull in a china shop this very moment.”

“Okay, you win for now, providing you keep your side of the bargain,” he replied after a short silence.

“I will and in case you were wondering, I am happily involved with someone,” Tori said wanting to erase any uneasiness he might have.

* * *

 

The next day at the NCIS office Tony lagged behind the rest of the team as they left Abby’s lab. “Abbs, you got a second?” he asked once everyone had left the room and was out of earshot.

“Sure,” she replied looking at him with suspicion. Her recent conversations with Tori had her on guard and Tony suddenly wanting to talk only furthered her misguided belief that trouble was brewing. “What’s up?”

“Have you spoken with your sister lately?” Tony asked her seriously.

“Yes,” Abby said with a bit of hesitation. “Tony, I got Tori’s Cliff’s Notes speech concerning minding my own business about the two of you and I agreed to not get in the middle of things. I’m sticking to that because the full version of her speech will not be pretty.”

“I’m not asking you to get in the middle of things,” he told her watching her closely for some sort of clue to what she knew. “I just want to make sure everything’s okay.”

“You haven’t spoken to her?” she questioned cautiously trying to see where he was going with his questions.

“I spoke with Victoria last night,” he answered honestly and continued to eye the forensic scientist carefully to gauge her reactions.

“So then you know she’s okay,” Abby stated cheerfully and turned and started to walk away from him.

“Abby, what did she say to you exactly?” Tony pressed her for an answer, as he grabbed her arm and gently held her back.

“Tony, I am not going back on my word,” she protested. Abby looked at him, thought for a few seconds and then said, “Why don’t you tell me what she told you?”

He watched her, his eyes narrowed before answering, “Vic said that Charles was at the market on Saturday at the same time she was; _but,_ he didn’t say anything until Monday at work, after she turned him down for lunch.”

“Yep, that’s what Tori told me, too,” Abby said with enthusiasm. She was glad her sister followed through with telling Tony what had happened at work. “You think there’s something else?”

“No,” he answered without hesitation and then added, “Yes.”

“Which is it?” she asked with an indulgent smile.

“I don’t think she’s taking it seriously enough,” Tony told her. “She says it bothers her, but she’s not acting like it.”

“Tony, she told me; she told you,” Abby stated. “She’s taking it seriously. I’ve known Tori my entire life and she tends to not involve anyone in her personal matters, unless she feels it absolutely necessary. She tries to handle it all herself; it’s a weird independent streak – she’s always been like that. Don’t take it personally.”

“Stubborn,” he interjected.

“What?” she asked with surprise.

“Your sister,” he said. “She’s stubborn.”

“Well, she is a Sciuto,” Abby said with a smile trying to reassure him. “ _Anyway_ , the fact that Tori said something -- especially to you, shows that she’s taking this seriously. Trust me.”

“I still don’t like it,” Tony said grumbling. “He’s up to something.”

“You watch too many movies,” Abby called after him as the NCIS agent walked out of her lab.


	11. Chapter 11

A few days later, Tori took an afternoon walk through the galleries wanting a break from her desk and the email and phone calls that came with it. She slowly made her way through the familiar rooms pausing from time to time glance at the paintings and people watch. Near the entrance of a mostly empty gallery, Charles walked up to her.

“Victoria,” he said in greeting. “Still walking museum galleries, I see?”

“Some habits are hard to break,” she replied sharply. “Do you need something?”

“I was looking for you,” he said.

“Again?” Tori questioned. “Why?”

“I wanted to speak with you,” Charles answered calmly.

“You know where my desk is; I would’ve been there sooner or later,” she told him shortly.

“We should have lunch and catch up, is that how you say it?” he replied.

“We had lunch and caught up ... the first day you were here. Remember?” Tori said and walked to a deserted corner of the room.

“We could talk more,” Charles replied walking after her.

“You’ve talked enough,” she said brusquely while trying to remain as quiet as possible as to not disturb anyone.

“What do you mean?” he asked and looked at her, his eyes questioning.

“ _What do I mean?_ You told Tony that I was seriously considering a job you offered me in a country that isn’t Canada or the United States. A job I told you I wasn’t interested in,” she told him bluntly. “I can guess why you would say something like that, but I am amazed that you resorted to it. Did you think he wouldn’t say anything to me?”

“Ah, yes, Tony,” Charles said off-handedly. “He really isn’t your type, is he?”

“Intelligent, funny, good looking; yes, definitely not my type. What was I thinking?” she said sarcastically.

“You could do better,” he quickly replied.

“With you? Is that where you’re going with this?” Tori asked.

“We were happy. You were happy,” he said. “You cannot deny that.”

“I won’t,” she said shortly and then continued. “It was a long time ago Charles. Things change. People change. I grew up; I know what I want now.”

* * *

 

Later that day, Jean-Paul called Tori into his office.

“Please sit down,” he said and gestured towards a chair as he shut the door behind her. Jean-Paul then took a seat and asked, “Is everything okay? You don’t seem yourself lately.”

Tori looked up with surprise. “I’m fine,” she answered. “Just a little tired.”

“Victoria, are you sure? I know we all need a chance to regroup after the exhibit opening, but this seems different,” he replied with concern in his voice. “Does it have anything to do with Charles being here?”

“Jean-Paul, I don’t feel comfortable with him here, I already told you that,” she replied and then confessed. “I also don’t like the way he went about telling others about Cluny when I said no to the position outright. I’m not sure he understands that this is my home now.”

Jean-Paul looked at her closely. “Is that all?”

“Mostly,” she answered and then smiled. She didn’t feel the need to explain to Jean-Paul about the market incident; as far as anyone knew it may have been a coincidence.

“If there is more I need to know, Victoria, you should tell me,” he replied.

“And I will,” Tori assured him. “How’s is your wife? I didn’t see her the other night.”

“She remained at home,” he laughed. “She said she didn’t feel like coming out just to be abandoned by me for most of the night.”

“That is a hazard of the job,” Tori said. “I wish she would’ve been there; I felt bad having to leave Tony alone from time to time.”

“Not his cup of tea, I take it?” Jean-Paul inquired.

“Not really,” she told him. “His idea of art is geared toward the silver screen. For every museum I drag him too, I get an evening of film.”

“That doesn’t seem like a bad trade off,” he replied.

“It’s not,” she concurred. “Add in some take-out pizza and a bottle of red wine and you’ve got a pretty nice night.”

Jean-Paul nodded in agreement. “I prefer lager with my films but otherwise that’s a good way to spend an evening,” he said as Tori got up to leave. “Don’t forget we have lunch tomorrow with Bernard.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Tori replied from the doorway. “Thanks for the reminder. Have a good night.”

* * *

 

The next day, Tori was running a little late and told Jean-Paul to go on ahead to lunch, she would be there shortly. The lunch was scheduled at the nearby bistro and was a quick walk. Tori finished up what she was working on and hurried over to the restaurant. As she walked in the door, she checked the time and was relieved to see that she had managed to only be five minutes past the agreed upon time. Nearing the table, Tori saw Jean-Paul in conversation with Bernard, a member of the museum’s Board of Trustees; also at the table was Bernard’s assistant and Tori’s friend, Elise, along with Charles Alauzet.

Tori walked over to the empty spot across from Elise and next to Charles and pulled out the chair, hoping her face did not show the surprise at seeing Charles there. “Sorry I’m late,” she said as the men arose from their seats.

Bernard checked his watch and said with a smile, “Anything under fifteen minutes does not require an apology. It’s good to see you again, Victoria. I hope you’re well.”

“Very well, thanks,” Tori replied after sitting down. “And you?”

“Quite well,” Bernard answered as the waiter came by to take drink orders.

The luncheon passed uneventfully with upcoming plans discussed in the most general way. Elise took some basic notes in a notepad she had sitting next to her during the meal. As the group rose from the table to leave and head back to the museum, Tori engaged Elise in some idle chatter. She hoped that the men would proceed on ahead and any chance of having to speak more with Charles would be averted. Unfortunately, once outside the bistro the gentlemen waited for Tori and Elise. Charles lingered behind, walking back the few blocks next to Tori. Elise, who had caught on to what Tori was trying to do earlier, walked on Tori’s other side and kept up the conversation never allowing Charles to get a word in.

When they reached the museum, Tori pulled out her cell phone and checked for any messages. She laughed quietly when she read a text from Abby commenting on her forensics work day. As Elise and Charles looked on with curiosity Tori said in explanation, “My sister providing a little play-by-play of her day.”

Once back at her desk Tori went through her email; when one arrived in her inbox from Elise she immediately stopped what she was working on and read it. Elise had provided her meeting notes from the luncheon as Tori had requested and then proceeded to ask Tori what the deal was with the “new guy”. Elise also asserted that Charles seemed to be very interested in Tori and asked if Tori was still dating that Navy cop from the States.

Tori replied to the email and gave Elise a quick overview of what Charles was doing there and assured her that, yes she was still dating that Navy cop. As Tori ended her email, she told Elise she would fill her in more over lunch in the very near future. Elise was eager to catch up with Tori and learn more about the visitor to the museum; they made a lunch date for the day after next.


	12. Chapter 12

When Tori and Elise met for lunch, they decided on L’academie, one of their favorites located near the museum. Both ordered mussels and fries; Tori chose Madagascar style and Elise decided on Provencal style. The two had met and become fast friends shortly after Tori moved to Montréal and began working at the museum.

“How is everyone, Elise?” Tori asked as they waited for their food to arrive.   

“Everyone is good. Alex likes school, thank goodness. How are you doing, Tori? Aside from a few quick texts lately, you’ve been pretty quiet,” Elise asked in return.

“Things are good. Abby was up visiting for a week a while back; I survived the opening – obviously; it went quite well, too,” Tori replied and then hesitated before saying, “And then there is that Navy cop.”

“Yes, there is,” Elise agreed. “When do I get to meet him?”

“You should’ve come to the museum for the opening, he was there,” Tori replied with a smile.

“Come on, Tori, give me something. Stop holding out on me; I thought we were friends,” Elise laughed determined to find out more about the new guy in Tori’s life. “Does he have a name?”

“He does. His name is Tony,” Tori told her as a smile lit up her face. She then pulled out her phone and showed Elise a few photos.

Elise noticed Tori’s slight hesitation throughout the discussion. She watched Tori’s expression carefully as she went on to say, “With a smile like that, I’d keep him all to myself, too. So what’s the problem?”

At that moment lunch arrived and the waiter placed their plates in front of them. Tori waited to respond until the waiter retreated and they were alone again.

“There isn’t. What do you mean?” Tori asked her friend, trying her best to remain impassive.

“Is it going alright?” Elise questioned and gestured to Tori to try one of her mussels.

“Pretty much. We’ve been seeing each other a few months now. I told you Abby sort of introduced us; he’s in DC so it’s long distance, which is okay with me right now,” Tori answered slowly and traded some of her mollusks for some of Elise’s.

“Tori, I know you miss Jeremie, we all do,” Elise said somberly. “You’re allowed to be happy, go out, have a good time, even fall in love again; it doesn’t mean that you forgot him or love him any less. I’m telling you this as your friend; a friend who wants you to be happy.”

“I know all of those things,” Tori told her. “It’s just unexpected. When I went home to see my mom for a few days, I didn’t plan on dinner and a movie.”

“It usually goes that way,” Elise replied with a smile.

“And then, of course, he’s a federal agent,” Tori admitted with a slight shake of her head.

“Another cop,” Elise said, still smiling.

“It’s my luck,” Tori told her. “I can’t meet a librarian or someone with a safe job.”

Elise laughed then said, “Tori, my advice whether you want it or not, is to go with it. Stop thinking so much about what can go wrong and just enjoy it. Do we have dessert?”

“I’m always up for crème brulee,” Tori answered. “Besides, Jean-Paul will be concerned if I get back too soon. He thinks I lunch at my desk too often.”

“Dessert it is,” Elise said. As they left the restaurant a short time later, she looked across the street and asked Tori, “Isn’t that your official visitor?”

“What? Where?” Tori asked as her eyes followed the direction where Elise had quickly gestured. Charles was nonchalantly strolling by on the opposite corner. “Son of a bitch,” Tori said forgoing French for a moment.

“He’s like your puppy dog,” Elise said chuckling.

“No,” Tori protested. “Why would you say that?”

“It was obvious the other day that he is interested in you. You, however, have your Navy cop to be interested in, of which I thoroughly approve; this one is a little old,” Elise answered her voice full of playfulness.

Tori laughed ruefully, “I used to live this “this one” when I was in France.”

“Nooo!” Elise replied and stopped walking. “Tori, you are joking, yes?”

“Umm, no,” Tori told her honestly. “You never made any stupid man-related decisions in college…or for a while after?”

“Possibly more than one,” Elise admitted with a grin. “Does your Navy cop know that “this one” is here working with you?”

“Ohh, yes, Tony knows,” Tori said. “He’s not happy about it.”

“I can see why,” Elise told her as they took leave of each other and returned to work.

* * *

 

After returning from lunch, Tori spent part of her afternoon with Jean-Paul in the vast storage area of the museum. They were perusing the various pieces of art that were not hanging on the walls.

“I don’t think this one should be added into that gallery,” Tori said to Jean-Paul as they looked at a large canvas.

“Why not?” he asked in return.

“If you’re expecting an educated, formal analysis, you’re going to be disappointed. I just don’t like it at all,” she replied while suppressing some laughter before adding. “Feel free to overrule me and hang it anyway."

“Not now,” he told her with a smile. “I will just wait until you take a few days off and hang it then.”

While Tori was going through the stored artwork, Georges saw Charles walking aimlessly through the museum peering into gallery rooms. “Are you looking for something? Perhaps I can help,” Georges asked.

“Have you seen Victoria? She usually is walking the galleries in the afternoon,” Charles asked Georges in return.

“Tori?” Georges said as he eyed Charles suspiciously. “No, I haven’t seen her today.”

“Ah, okay, thank you,” Charles replied and began to walk away.

“You should let her be,” Georges told Charles unequivocally.

“Pardon?” Charles asked.

“Tori does not need any hassles in her life now,” Georges said pointedly. “She has been through enough.”

“I see,” Charles replied and abruptly turned and walked away from the security guard.

Instead of heading back to the offices, Charles made his way to the storage area. He knew that Jean-Paul had planned on looking through a few pieces that day. When he arrived, Charles found Jean-Paul in conversation with Tori; as he neared he could tell they were discussing vacation plans.

“Jean-Paul, I know you really want to hang that piece but I have nothing planned right now. When I come up with something, you’ll be the first to know,” Tori laughed.

“I can always hang it the next time you are out for lunch,” Jean-Paul replied with a smile as Charles approached. “Tell Tony that the islands are nice this time of year.”

“I’ll be sure to pass that along to him,” Tori answered as she eyed Charles warily. “Now all you have to do is get people to stop committing crimes or dying so he can get some time off.”

She was thankful that her phone rang at that moment sparing her from having to speak to him at all. She excused herself and began walking away as she answered it. “Hello,” Tori said into her phone cheerfully. “No, I’m not busy. I just finished up with what I was doing.” She motioned to Jean-Paul that she was leaving and exited the room with Charles looking on inquisitively.

As Tori prepared to leave work later that afternoon, she gathered her purse and personal items on top of her desk. She then grabbed her wrap off a hook near her desk and haphazardly tossed it around herself. When she turned back around she jumped; Charles had silently entered the room while her back was turned.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Charles said to her.

“Then you should knock,” Tori replied shortly. It took all her might to stifle the cocky remark that she wanted to utter. “Do you need something?”

“I spoke with my colleague at the Cluny earlier,” he told her and then asked, “Are you certain you are not interested in the position?”

“I already told you my answer is no. That hasn’t changed, nor will it,” she responded sternly as she picked up her bag and then walked towards the door. He followed her into the hallway.

“I think you are making a mistake, Victoria,” Charles said seriously. “An opportunity like this may not occur again for you.”

“I know and I am willing to take that chance,” Tori replied shortly. As they neared Sylvie’s desk, she could see Georges and Sylvie engaged in a friendly chat before leaving for the day. Georges looked up when he heard footsteps and looked from Tori to Charles and back to Tori again. Tori slightly rolled her eyes when Georges’ eyes met hers; upon seeing the look on Tori’s face he began walking towards her determined to disrupt anything Charles may had been thinking of.

“Hey, Tori, I’m bringing you bagels tomorrow morning. No waking up at 3 am necessary,” Georges called out as Sylvie smiled.

“Good. They taste better when I get to sleep in,” she told him with a grin. One of Jeremie’s favorite stories had been the tale of dragging Tori out of bed at 3 am to get fresh bagels. Shortly after it happened, all of their friends, family and coworkers had been informed that waking Tori up from a sound sleep for bagels without warning may not have been one of his better ideas.

They all walked out the door together and Georges leaned over and told Tori that he was going to walk her to her car. “Jeremie would never forgive me if I left you here while he is hanging about,” Georges said with a tilt of his head toward Charles. “Neither would Tony.”

“You don’t like Charles either it seems,” Tori replied quietly and linked her arm in his and pointed in the direction of her car. Upon seeing Tori and Georges walking off together, Charles stalked off in the other direction without another word.

“No. He was wandering around earlier looking for you,” Georges told her. When she heard what Georges said Tori exhaled loudly with annoyance. “I told him not to hassle you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” she said wearily. “I’m just tired of him not taking no for an answer…and turning up everywhere I go. I wish he would go back to France already.”

“Tori go home; have some wine; relax. Don’t waste another thought on him,” Georges said in reply as they reached her car. “He will be gone soon.”


	13. Chapter 13

Tori eventually took Georges’ advice when she went home. But instead of opening a bottle of wine immediately, she changed and went out for a run hoping to forget about the events of the afternoon. She was midway through a 5K jog when her phone rang a few times; she ignored it and let it go to voicemail without even looking to see who was calling. When she arrived back at her apartment she finally looked at her phone, saw it was Tony who called along with missed calls from a number she didn’t recognize. Instead of returning Tony’s call immediately, Tori went to take a shower. Shortly after she emerged from the shower, her phone was ringing again. “Hey,” Tori said as she answered it.

“Long day?” Tony asked.   

“Went for a run,” she answered.

“Hmmmm, bad day,” he replied, knowing Tori would only go for a run after work if she had a rough day.

“Kind of,” she told him. “There was also crème brûlée involved at lunch.”

“Want to talk about it?” he inquired. “You can skip the brûlée.”

“But that’s the best part,” she countered wearily not ready to recount her day to anyone, not even Tony. “How about you talk for a while?”

“About what?” Tony asked with concern when he heard the tone to her voice.

“Catching bad guys. A movie. The number of Zegna ties in your collection. Just talk,” Tori told him. As he began speaking, she uncorked a bottle of wine and rummaged in the refrigerator for something to eat. He barely uttered a sentence when the call waiting on Tori’s phone went off.

“Do you need to get that?” he asked.

“No, I think someone’s got the wrong number; that’s the third call but there’s no message so I’m not worrying about it,” she replied. “Start talking.”

Tony rambled on about his day and recent case for a while and then made a short joke about his ties before he said, “Ok, Victoria, your turn.”

Tori told him about lunch with Elise including the brûlée dessert. She then shared that they had seen Charles across the street when they were leaving the restaurant and that later that day Charles had once again encouraged her to take the Cluny job. She winced steeling herself for his reply and then said, “Okay, I’m ready now… fire away.” ~~~~

“I told you I should be there with you,” Tony replied calmly when she finished.

“You cannot spend a couple of weeks here following me to and from work. What you do for the victims and their families is important,” Tori protested.

“You are important to me,” he told her seriously in a quieter voice. Not expecting those words, Tori was totally disarmed and tried to gather her thoughts.

“Awww, Anthony DiNozzo, that’s not fair,” she said. “I was trying to have a purely logical conversation and you go tugging on heartstrings.”

“Why not? It’s the truth,” he told her. “I don’t want anything happening to you.”

“Georges is looking out for me since you aren’t here; at least that was the gist of what he said,” Tori said quietly.

“While I am very glad Georges is keeping an eye on you, I think that maybe I should speak to Charles,” he stated.

“Tony, I told him no about Cluny… AGAIN,” Tori explained.  “I don’t think it’s necessary for you to repeat that I am not taking the job in France.”

“Charles might take that answer more seriously if it came from me,” he told her.

“You don’t think I stated it clearly enough?” she asked beginning to bristle with anger.

“No-o-o-o,” Tony said with emphasis. The last thing he wanted was to argue with Tori. “I think Charles is much more inclined to try to change your mind than he would mine. I also don’t trust Charles to stop at talking, especially when he sees you every day at work.”

“What else?” Tori asked with a sigh.

“What makes you think there’s an else?” he retorted and was met with silence. He then continued, “I don’t like that you’re alone at night with him there.”

“He’s not right here. Montreal’s a big city,” she said plainly. “Besides, I never told him where I live.”

“Victoria, aside from the fact that you’re speaking to a cop and were married to one for a while, you are more than intelligent enough to know that doesn’t matter,” Tony told her without mincing words. “He can find out where you live very easily.”

“I know,” Tori admitted. “But do you expect me to go get a roommate for a few weeks? That’s not happening.”

“No, I know that’s not practical,” he answered.

“Neither is you coming up here to hang out when you have a job to do, unless of course you’re determined to piss me off,” she told him seriously. Her reply triggered a disgruntled sigh from Tony so she continued. “However, I will make a concerted effort to keep people informed of my whereabouts, even if my very busy life consists mainly of work and home.”

“Really?” Tony probed. “What will your concerted effort be?”

“I’m sure Elise won’t mind keeping track of my mostly non-existent social excursions. And if I promise to bring you by next time you’re in town, you may even get a time and date-stamped journal from her. Plus, since we are in daily communication and I tell you everything; it looks like I’m covered in two countries. Does this work for you?” she replied.

“It does and there’s no need to get all sarcastic, Victoria,” he said with a small laugh.

“But I do it so well,” Tori said and joined in the laughter.

* * *

 

The next morning at the NCIS office, Tony eyed up McGee from his desk. “What?” McGee said irritably finally picking up his head and looking over at Tony.

“Are you busy?” Tony asked him and started walking over towards McGee’s desk.

“Not really. What do you want, Tony?” McGee countered immediately.

“I need a favor, McGoogle. Can you get a call log for this number?” Tony told McGee and handed over a piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

McGee started typing and input the number as Tony watched. Shortly after hitting the enter key, a familiar name popped up on his screen. “That’s Tori’s number!” McGee whispered to Tony.

“Yes, McGeek, I know that,” Tony said back in a hushed tone. “Don’t look at me like that. Just do it.”

At that moment, Gibbs called Tony into MTAC. Once Tony left, McGee stopped what he was doing, grabbed the piece of paper and headed down to Abby’s lab.

“What’s wrong McGee?” Abby asked as the agent walked into her lab and came to stand next to her. “You’ve looked like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not quite,” McGee answered. “It’s Tony. I don’t know what to do.”

“Tony? Is he okay?” Abby questioned quickly. “What happened?”

“Tony’s fine. He’s in MTAC with Gibbs,” he told her. As Abby glared at him, he continued, “He asked me to get the call log for a cell phone number.”

“Okay, McGee, so what’s the problem?” Abby inquired losing patience.

Tim McGee inhaled deeply before answering. “It’s Tori’s number,” he said slowly looking Abby directly in the eye.

“Why is Tony doing a search on my sister’s call log?” she asked him directly.

“Abby, I don’t know,” McGee said honestly. “It’s Tony, but it’s your sister; I didn’t know what to do, so when he left I came down here.”

“This is unacceptable!” Abby announced to McGee and dialed Tony’s desk from her phone. “Tony, can you come down here for a minute; I have something for you.” After hanging up, Abby turned around and smiled at McGee.

“Really, McGee?” Tony asked when he walked in the lab and saw both McGee and Abby there. The realization of why Abby called hit immediately.

“Tony,” McGee began but was cut off by Abby jumping in.

“Why are you looking up my sister’s cell phone logs, Anthony DiNozzo? She really likes you and would never do anything to hurt you. If you think she’s cheating or something because her ex is working with her, you’re wrong,” Abby said to Tony quickly.

“Are you finished?” Tony asked when Abby stopped talking. When she nodded, he continued, “I don’t think Tori’s cheating.”

“Then why are you looking into her phone records?” Abby asked in a challenging tone.

“Because she mentioned that she had some calls from a number she didn’t recognize and with Charles always turning up wherever she goes, I wanted to look into it,” Tony explained. “Can one of you start looking now?”

Abby turned to her computer and typed in Tori’s number, called up the incoming call records and asked Tony for the approximate time of the calls. He told her two approximate times and she was able to locate the number that Tori didn’t recognize. While they were working on it, Gibbs called Abby’s phone and requested McGee and DiNozzo immediately report to their desks.

“Let me know who that belongs to as soon as you know,” Tony said to Abby as he dashed out of the lab before Gibbs called again.


	14. Chapter 14

While Tony had Abby working on tracing the cell phone number, Tori was in a meeting with Jean-Paul and Charles for most of the morning. Prior to going into the meeting Tori kept her word to Tony and sent an email to Elise giving her a brief explanation of recent events and asking if she would mind being a sort of contact person for a while. That afternoon after reading Elise’s humorous reply and promising that she would introduce Tony to her and her husband, Tori decided have lunch at her desk and then try to get rid of nervous energy by going for a walk. Instead of her usual route, she chose a different area of the museum and came upon Georges at the entrance to the large room.

“Are you feeling better today?” he asked with genuine concern.

“Mostly,” she said quietly.

“Ah, the wine helped,” he chuckled.

“That, a run, and a bit of a talk with Tony,” she said smiling.

“I think you could’ve skipped the run and went with the other two and been perfectly fine,” Georges told her with a wink. “And not to worry, I will make sure that Visitor doesn’t bother you while you’re walking around.”

Tori continued slowly walking down to the far end of the gallery and then went into a smaller adjoining room. She continued perusing the artwork hanging on the walls slowly taking them all in even though she had viewed them many times. She stood in front of a small painting hanging on a far wall, lost in her thoughts.

“The detail on the fabric is amazing and the brushstrokes are almost nonexistent,” said a familiar voice quietly from behind her. “We should all be so talented.”

 Not having heard footsteps, Tori jumped and whirled around, “What are you doing here, Anthony DiNozzo?”

“You weren’t yourself on the phone last night. I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he replied quietly and noted that Tori looked like she hadn’t slept well the previous night.

“If you sneak up on me again like that, neither one of us is going to be okay,” she told him in an angry whisper and then eyed him curiously. “What about work? I thought I told you…”

“I was at work this morning. We start early,” Tony cut in. He didn’t want to get into looking at her phone calls at that very moment so he just told her, “Gibbs told me I could leave. You can call him if you want.”

She smiled as he began to hand over his cell phone; Tori wasn’t sure if she believed the part about Gibbs or not, but she also wasn’t going to make the call from inside a gallery. “Maybe later,” she said and waved the phone away. “So, did you any other plans besides hanging out at the museum and playing bodyguard?”

“Kevin Costner plays a bodyguard; I, on the other hand, am professionally trained. And I came to break you out of here not hang out,” he said with a smile. “Are you ready to go?”

“Tony, I can’t just leave,” she protested.

“Yes, you can,” Tony assured her as he put his arm around her shoulders and began steering her out of the room. “I’ve already spoken with Jean-Paul. He said to tell you to enjoy the weekend.”

She looked at him dubiously as they re-entered the larger gallery. He nodded in assurance and encouragement and continued walking. Right outside the entrance of the large gallery stood Georges, only now his arms were full. “Merci beaucoup, Georges,” Tony said earnestly as he emptied Georges’ arms of the items he was holding. “I owe you for many things; we’ll discuss repayment at a later date or else Victoria might sneak away to her office while we’re talking.”

When Tony had arrived at the museum, he had asked to speak to Jean-Paul. After making sure that it was okay that Tori leave a few hours early, Tony had Sylvie retrieve Tori’s things from her office. Knowing that Tori could be anywhere in the building, Tony went in search of Georges while carrying Tori’s things and his own small go bag; he hoped the guard could at the least point him in a direction. As it turned out, she was in the next gallery so Tony had Georges hold on to their personal things until he got her. Georges was happy to act as a coat rack when he heard Tony’s plan.

“No problem, Tony. I’m glad you’re here,” Georges told Tony as Tori looked on. “And you, Victoria, go have a good time.”

“Is all my stuff here?” Tori asked somewhat hesitant to leave. “Maybe I should go check my office to make sure.”

“You are not going to check; you will make do for a few days if something isn’t there,” Tony admonished her and handed Tori her wrap. “What could you possibly need?”

“I did have a medieval art book I just started,” she told him. “Is it in there?”

“Victoria – number one, I have seen your place and you have enough books to get by for months, and number two, you have a DiNozzo and that’s better than any book,” he told her as he made sure she kept walking.

As they left the museum and walked towards Tori’s car, Tony decided to feel out her mood and asked, “How angry are you that I’m here right now?”

“On a scale of one to ten?” Tori asked with a smile and received a nod in response. “I’m not sure. I’m torn between wanting to be wrapped in your arms for a few hours and slapping you silly.”

“If you’re looking for suggestions I prefer the full body contact option,” he replied as he opened the passenger side door for her.

“I’m sure you have better things to do than to come to Montréal and see if I am okay,” Tori said as they pulled out of the parking spot.

“Not really. You’re kinda at the top of the list,” Tony answered sincerely.

Tony carried the bags from the car into her apartment fully aware that she was watching his every move. He put them down on a chair in the living room and glanced inside her tote. Meanwhile, Tori had haphazardly tossed her wrap on the back of the chair and continued down to the bedroom without paying attention to what he was doing. Tony reached down, pulled out a book from the bag, examined the cover, and turned around with a smile. He walked into the bedroom and found Tori barefoot and starting to unbutton her blouse.

“Don’t let me stop you,” he said looking on with interest as she paused when he entered the room. “Consider it my finder’s fee.”

“Finder’s fee?” Tori asked with curiosity.

“Uh-huh, look what I found,” Tony replied and held up the book as he stepped in closer. “One book on medieval art from the desk of Victoria Theriault.”

Tori bit her lip and looked back and forth between the book and Tony’s face. He gave her an encouraging smile as she closed the small gap between them. Tori grabbed the book from his hands and pitched it onto the bed before reaching her arms around him. She gazed into his eyes and then kissed him slowly as he pulled her close. In between a kiss and loosening his tie Tori asked, “Why are you really here, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?”

“Aren’t I allowed to surprise you?” he asked in return not releasing his embrace.

“Oh, I’m surprised, believe me,” she told him and finished removing his tie. “Now if you want the full body contact to continue you’ll tell me why you’re here with only your go bag.”

“You realize that what you said could be construed as a bribe, Victoria?” Tony inquired with a grin and undid a button on her blouse; a move that got him a playful slap on his hand. “I was hoping I would only need my toothbrush this weekend.”

Despite her best efforts to restrain it, Tori let out a laugh. “You left one last time you were here so why even bother with a bag,” she said with a smile. “What is so bad that you don’t want to tell me?”

“It’s not bad,” he assured her and gave her a quick kiss. Knowing he was going to have to tell her sooner or later, Tony inhaled deeply and let Tori over to the bed and sat down. He looked up at her and patted the spot next to him; when she sat down he took one of her hands in his.

“Tony, is my family okay?” Tori asked cautiously searching his eyes for an answer.

“Your family is fine,” Tony told her. “I don’t want to upset you but I don’t know how to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” she implored her mind spinning with the possible answers to her question.

Taking another deep breath he began, “Okay, you know those calls you got yesterday that you didn’t recognize? It bothered me…a lot. I had McGee, actually McGee and Abby, run your incoming call record and see who belongs to that number.”

“You ran my phone records?” Tori slowly questioned him and pulled her hand back. “You couldn’t ask first?”

“I didn’t think you’d say okay and I didn’t want to argue,” he replied hesitantly. “I’m sorry.”

Tori sat silent and thought over what she had just learned. She knew that Tony had the best of intentions in mind when he set things in motion and that he was probably correct in assuming she would have said no if he would have asked to search for the owner of the number.

“So what’s the verdict?” she inquired in the end also choosing not to argue.

“That number you didn’t recognize belongs to a Charles Alauzet,” Tony told her in a quiet voice.

Tori looked directly into Tony’s eyes and stated, “I didn’t give him my number.”

She then laid her head against his shoulder, the events of the past few weeks storming through her mind all at once. Tony put his arm around her and held her close while. “I know you didn’t.”

“Now what?” she murmured without picking up her head.

He tilted her head gently upwards until their eyes met; in her blue eyes he could see the fear, confusion, and sadness that were currently running through her head. “Now I keep you safe,” he answered. Tony bent his head and gently kissed her; she returned the kiss fervently and when he unfastened another button on her blouse there was no hand slap.

* * *

 

“Your things are in that drawer on the off chance you need something besides a toothbrush,” Tori said and pointed to the top drawer in a chest of drawers against a wall. She was lying wrapped in Tony’s arms, her head resting against chest; it was a much better choice than slapping him silly she decided as she tucked her arm back around him.

“I have a drawer; you must plan on keeping me around for a while,” he teased.

“Well, they were really annoying me piled up on the floor even after I folded them; you’re welcome,” she told him with a laugh.

“Thank you,” Tony said as he looked down at her after he playfully rolled her onto her back. “Hey, I’m hungry, how about you?”

She nodded, “Stay in or go out?”

“I’m gonna make you dinner,” he told her as he sprung from the bed.

“You’re going to make dinner?” Tori asked when he came back into the room a short time later hair wet and a towel wrapped around his waist.

“I can cook – a bit,” Tony replied as he watched her eyes widen. He gave her a quick kiss. “You shower, or better yet, take a bath and relax. I’ll cook; disregard any sounds you may hear unless I’m screaming for help or you smell smoke.”

She took Tony’s suggestion and filled the tub with steaming water and bubbles ignoring the clash of pots and pans from the kitchen. When she emerged from the bathtub she was slightly more wrinkled and more relaxed than when she entered. Tori put on a pair of black lounge pants and t-shirt displaying the band The Cure. She then walked into the kitchen where she found Tony at the stove; he had donned the plaid lounge pants and Ohio State tee that he left at the apartment while she was in the tub. The small table was set with plates and forks, wine glasses containing red wine and a few candles Tony had collected from around the apartment and lit.

“It smells really good,” Tori said as she stood beside Tony and slipped her arm around his waist. “And my kitchen is still intact.”

“I told you I can cook a bit,” he retorted as he looked her up and down. “Definitely much more relaxed. Now sit.”

Tori took a seat and a sip of wine as he brought the pan to the table. “Pasta Primavera-ish,” he told her as he put some on her plate and sat next to her.

“Ish?” she asked, and then laughed as he nodded.

After eating dinner followed by a quick kitchen clean up, they moved to the sofa wine glasses in hand. Tony picked up the television remote in search of a movie to watch. “Any preferences? The Cure in Orange perhaps?” he asked referencing her shirt, as she curled up next to him.

“You’ve heard of that? I never would’ve guessed,” Tori asked her voice filled with disbelief. She then went on to tease him a bit, “Anthony DiNozzo, you might have potential after all.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he replied off-handedly and flashed a smile. He then continued in a Scottish accent. “How do you feel about Bond, James Bond?”

As the movie started, Tori’s attention was on Tony and not the television screen. She watched his face carefully taking it all in. After a minute or so, he turned towards her and asked, “Wrong movie?”

“Thank you for today,” she said quietly. “Dinner, being here, everything.”

“I love you Victoria, I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he told her and then kissed her gently. “…Should’ve made popcorn.”


	15. Chapter 15

Early the next morning, Tony’s phone rang. Both he and Tori had been awake for a short time but despite that fact, the ringtone still was harsh to their ears.

“I could swear you said Gibbs okayed you coming here,” Tori challenged and stifled a yawn. She had been enjoying lying in his arms and the safe, comfortable feeling that came along with it.

“He did. There is a very slim chance it’s my father,” Tony replied and groaned while stretching to grab the device off the nightstand. “DiNozzo.”

Upon hearing Tony murmur ‘mm-hmm’ into the phone, she turned over on her side and pulled the covers up to her ears. A few seconds later, he rolled over next to her and said, “It’s for you.”

Tori slightly turned her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes as he handed her the phone. “Hello?”

“Tor, you awake?” came Abby’s voice cheerfully through the phone.

“Awake – yes,” Tori said slowly to get a point across. “Out of bed – No! What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?” Abby told her.

“Because you’re calling me on Tony’s phone,” Tori stated somewhat exasperated. “This had better be good.”

“You haven’t answered a text since early yesterday and your phone goes right to voicemail when I call,” Abby said in explanation. She then asked, “Why aren’t you answering?”

“Did it ever occur to you that I was otherwise occupied? Or maybe it’s because my phone is in my bag, which is on a chair in the living room,” Tori replied somewhat irritably. “It’s been there since yesterday afternoon and by now is probably dead. What do you want?”

“Can you talk?” Abby implored.

“We are talking,” Tori said bluntly.

“No, really talk, without Tony hearing,” Abby said somewhat conspiratorially.

“Excuse me,” Tori said as she looked over at Tony. She then got out of bed and walked into the bathroom and shut the door. “Okay, go.”

“Are you okay?” Abby asked her voice filled with concern.

“Aside from being a little annoyed that you ran my phone calls without asking me first and I just crawled out of bed to tell you this; I’m fine,” Tori replied her voice tinged with sarcastic annoyance.

“I’m serious, Tori,” Abby said in return.

“Yes, I am fine. Why?” Tori inquired wondering what her sister was getting at.

“I looked at all your phone calls, even though Tony didn’t say to,” Abby said coming clean to her sister. “Why is a number for a medical doctor coming up, incoming and outgoing. Are you okay?”

“Abby, I’m fine,” Tori assured her sister. “If you ran the number why you didn’t look further and get all the information, too?”

“That wouldn’t be right,” the forensic scientist replied matter-of-factly.

“Your spotty ethics are intriguing,” Tori told her sister. “In any event, I am fine. It’s my therapist.”

“I thought you were doing okay, especially since things are going well with Tony,” Abby said with hesitation.

“I am doing okay, but being involved with a cop dredges up some memories, good and bad, and Charles being around at work daily isn’t exactly doing wonders for my positive outlook,” Tori said honestly. “It just helps to talk to someone.”

“You know you can always call me,” Abby answered.

“I know, Abby, but I need an impartial ear at times,” Tori stated gently. “Thanks for being concerned. Now can I get back to bed – there’s a hot guy there who says he loves me?”

“He what?” Abby asked with surprise.

“Bye, Abbs,” Tori replied with a smile and hung up.

“Everything okay?” Tony asked as she crawled back under the covers and handed him his phone.

“Yes,” Tori told him with a smile and moved in closer to him. “You forgot my sister is an overachiever; she ran _all_ my calls.”

“And?” he questioned curiously and wrapped his arms around her again.

“And she was worried because my therapist’s number came up a few times,” Tori answered.

“That going okay?” Tony inquired as he looked into her eyes.

“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured and kissed his shoulder. “What are our plans for today? We could get ready and go to the market.”

“No market,” he told her gently. “Charles knows that’s your usual weekend thing; he’ll probably be there too. He sees you enough at work and I’d prefer if nothing upsets you this weekend.”

“There are other markets,” she suggested despite being quite sure that his mind was made up on the subject.

“Victoria, you’ll survive without going to the market one weekend,” Tony said with a smile.

“It was worth a shot. Am I allowed to go outside at all?” Tori asked a smirk on her face.

“Are you taking me with you?” he questioned in return.

Tori took her time answering and bit her lip as if she was having an inner debate on the matter. “Okay,” she finally said and then smiled.

They spent the late morning and early afternoon playing tourist as Tori liked to call it. She took him to Old Montréal and the sights around the Old Port. They grabbed a light lunch at an outdoor café and sat and watched people walk by for a while.

“I can see why you love it here,” he told her later as they strolled along cobbled streets hand in hand. “It’s a beautiful city.”

“I like my cities, the same way I like my art – old,” Tori said with a laugh.

“So you would never move to a “young” city?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

She looked at him carefully before answering. “I never said that,” she said with a smile. “There would need to be a very good reason to move. For the record, the other part of this city is totally young and hip. What about you?”

“What about me?” Tony inquired innocently.

“Could cobblestones and narrow streets call to you? Or are you thoroughly enthralled with the District and all its letters of the alphabet?” she questioned in return.

“I never really thought about it before,” he answered honestly. “Can I get back to you?”

“Of course,” Tori assured him. “And don’t worry you’re not being graded on your answer.”

“That’s what they all say,” Tony teased in return.

“Maybe, but this one means it,” she replied.

They returned back to the apartment and Tony opened another of Tori’s photo albums and began paging through it as he sat down. Tori walked into the room with bottles of water for both of them and sat down next to him.

“Have you made it through all of them yet?” she asked cheerfully.

“I don’t know,” Tony answered as he gestured to a stack of albums. “Is this all of them?”

“It should be,” Tori replied with a laugh. She picked up one of the other books and opened it. “I’m a bit of a shutterbug.”

“I noticed,” he replied and went back to paging through the album in his hands. “You’re not blushing in this one but you are definitely breathtaking.”

Tori looked over to see Tony looking down at a photo of her on her wedding day. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “Feel free to skip over those if you like.”

“Victoria, I know you were married,” he told her and then asked, “There’s nothing in here that I will regret seeing, is there?”

“Aside from cheesy photographs of me with my family…no,” Tori answered with a laugh.

They decided to go out for dinner that evening and Tori decided on a small place that served great Italian food.

“Italian?” Tony asked after they were seated. “I thought my primavera was pretty good yesterday.”

“It was,” Tori told him. “The veal marsala here is to die for, and neither one of us can make anything close to it in my kitchen because we didn’t go to market this morning.”

“Point taken, but I will point out that you did manage to survive the day thus far,” he replied with a smirk. “You may have even enjoyed yourself.”

“I always enjoy myself when you’re around,” she said with a smile. As Tori overcame her hesitation and reservations about becoming involved with another cop she found herself eagerly awaiting his calls and visits.

“Ok. I have to ask. Am I expected to get a tat at some point?” Tony asked in between bites of food. Although the question seemed sudden and without context, he had a glint in his eye as he said the words.

Tori laughed aloud before answering. She knew immediately Tony was referring to the photo of Jeremie’s tattoo that was in the photo album he had been paging through at the apartment “No. Most of the one you are referring to was already there before I met Jeremie. I wasn’t consulted about adding the “Victoire” to it; if I had, I would’ve told him no, though I doubt it would’ve made a difference.”

“You didn’t like it?” Tony asked curiously.

“The art was beautiful. I just wasn’t keen on a reference to my name ON him,” she replied honestly. “Any other questions?”

“Two. Are we having dessert and could I interest you in a movie after dinner?” he inquired with a small smile.

“Yes to both as long as you’re okay with tiramisu and me picking the DVD,” Tori answered decisively.

“Deal,” he replied with a wink.

Back at the apartment, Tori put Tony in charge of opening a bottle of wine while she changed clothes and decided on a movie. By the time he walked into the living room with glasses and bottle in hand, the movie was starting.

“Problem?” Tori asked with raised eyebrows. She was curled up in a corner of the sofa wearing cotton shorts and NCIS t-shirt.

“Stubborn cork,” he replied and sat down. Tony then poured some wine in each glass and handed one to Tori. “Die Hard. Not what I expected.”

“If you were hoping for The Notebook, you’re dating the wrong girl,” she stated bluntly.

“I’m pretty sure I got the right girl,” he assured her as he put his arm around her.

“I love you too,” Tori whispered into his ear. When he turned his head to look at her, she kissed him. He responded more fervently than she had expected and what was intended to be a quick peck turned into a much longer lingering event. As Tony’s hand began to move up her thigh, she pulled back. “Movie first.”

“Yippe-ki-yay!” Tony replied with an impish look in his face.

Just prior to the credits rolling, Tori shut the television off and stood up. She looked down at Tony and asked, “Still interested?” When he nodded yes, she grabbed his hand and led him down to the bedroom.

* * *

 

Tony had scheduled a flight back to Washington Monday morning instead of Sunday evening, so he accompanied Tori to the museum before he left for the airport.

“You’re spoiling me with the extra day,” Tori told him on the way to the museum Monday morning.

“And I expect to be spoiled in return,” he replied with a wide smile.

Once in her office, Tori sat at her desk and started going through emails while Tony sat in a chair facing her and watched.

“Anything good?” he asked.

“Mostly the usual,” Tori answered. “I need to run down to Sylvie’s desk for something. I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Tony replied. “I’ll be fine.”

Once Tori left the office, he got up out of the chair and walked around glancing at the books on the shelves. As he was perusing the shelf nearest her desk, he heard someone enter the office.

“Have you read all these?” he questioned while turning around expecting to see Tori. Instead it was Charles standing there.

“Excuse me, I thought Victoria might be here,” Charles said somewhat flustered; he had not expected to find Tony in the office or even in the museum. The older man then went to leave the room

“Don’t leave because of me,” Tony said with forced cheerfulness. “In fact, why don’t you sit down; I think we need to talk.”


	16. Chapter 16

Charles slowly turned around with a wary look in his eyes. Just as slowly, he walked over to the chair Tony pointed towards and then sat down.

“You didn’t expect to see me here did you?” Tony asked as he sat down in Tori’s chair across the desk from Charles. The NCIS agent’s face remained impassive thanks to years of police interrogations, but there was a smirk in his eyes. Tony didn’t wait for Charles to answer before continuing, “I didn’t expect to be here either but I when spoke with Vic last week she didn’t sound right. So, here I am. Victoria and I talk a lot. You probably didn’t know that. I’m probably more surprised by that than anyone. I generally keep a wall up between myself and everyone, especially women I date. It’s weird, I never felt that way with Vic. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I know all about you.”

“Really?” Charles asked in return. He looked at Tony with an expression that clearly said he didn’t believe it.

“You were her professor and I get that things can develop from there; I had a thing for my music teacher back in the day,” Tony told him and leaned back in the chair. “I know you and Victoria were involved for some time. You shared an apartment, a bed, and a love of art. I also know that you keep showing up now for no good reason. You showed up here for an exhibit opening and then stayed on; you were at the market when she was there; and I know you called her cellphone.”

“Victoria left here suddenly that day. I wanted to be sure she was alright,” Charles explained.

“She didn’t give you her number. I’m not sure what that means where you come from, but on this side of the ocean that usually means that someone doesn’t want you to call them,” Tony said as he sat straight up in the chair, his eyes cold.

“I take it that you are the only one allowed to call her,” Charles replied.

“If you’re implying that I don’t want Victoria speaking with other men, you’re wrong. I would never stop her from speaking to anyone, or even try to for that matter. She’s a grown woman. I trust her. But when someone – in this case, you – goes out of their way to get her phone number, I have a problem with that.”

“We are coworkers,” Charles protested.

“You crossed a line. She has told you more than once she is not interested,” Tony replied stonily. “Did you expect to find her sitting here and pining for you?”

“You would like her interested in you?” the older man asked smugly.

“She is interested in me,” Tony shot back. “That really bothers you doesn’t it?”

“Why would it bother me? You have nothing in common with Victoria. She will realize that soon enough and look for someone who does,” Charles stated surely.

“It’s time to let the past go, Charles,” Tony said. Any self-doubt he felt from what Charles had said was masked by a solemn countenance and confident tone. “Go back to France. I’m sure your kids miss you.”

Charles said nothing but got up from his chair and left through the adjoining room. Almost immediately after Charles left the room, Tori returned.

“Making yourself at home, I see,” Tori said as she walked into her office and spied Tony seated behind her desk. She had been in the hallway long enough to hear the tail end of the conversation through the open door. Although she wanted to reassure Tony, she decided it was best to see if he mentioned his chat with Charles.

“The chair’s comfortable,” he admitted with an easy smile as he idly played with the computer mouse on the desk. “Did you know that you get a whole lot of emails in French?”

“Imagine that! Email in French in a francophone province,” she laughed at watched the NCIS agent closely. “Are you thinking you need to learn a new language?”

“That depends on whether or not you will be the tutor,” Tony told her.

“I may be able to arrange some private lessons for you,” Tori said.

“I can’t wait. Can we skip ahead to the chapter on kissing?” Tony said as he stood up to let Tori sit at her desk. He glanced over at the clock on the wall, “Damn, I’d better get going.”

“Already?” Tori asked and also looked over at the clock. “Mind if I follow you?”

“Victoria, that isn’t necessary, although the thought is appreciated,” he told her and gave Tori a quick peck on the cheek.

“Then I’m walking you to your car and I’m not taking no for an answer. Got everything?” she said as he picked up his go bag. Tori had expected him to veto her accompanying him to the airport but the quick kiss on the cheek had her watching him suspiciously.

“I think so,” Tony laughed as they left her office. “Sorry about leaving you with laundry.”

“I think I’ll manage. Besides, it gives me something to remember you by,” she replied with a wry smile. The rest of the walk to Tony’s car was spent in silence.

“Are you okay?” Tori finally asked as they stood outside his rental car. She could take his uncharacteristic quietness no longer.

“Yeah. Fine. Why?” he answered not entirely telling the truth.

“Would you tell me if you weren’t?” she pressed.

“Probably,” Tony said without pause.

“Well, at least I’ve got a fighting chance. For what it’s worth, I am very interested in you,” she told him.

“You heard that? Were you listening the whole time?” he asked with hesitation.

“No, just caught the end. I don’t want you spending the entire flight thinking about it though,” Tori replied sincerely and touched his hand.

“You know me that well?” he replied shaking his head slightly.

“Scary, huh?” she answered with a smile. “Think about this scary thought instead, Anthony DiNozzo – I love you. Aside from that, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Tony drove off towards the airport with his mind alternately replaying the conversation he had with Charles and with what Tori said. No matter how hard he tried or how many reassurances he received from Tori, Tony couldn’t shake the bad feeling he had about Charles. While he was stopped at a traffic light, he picked up his phone and made a call.

* * *

 

Tori checked her phone outside the door to her apartment to see if there was any message from Tony. She hadn’t heard any word from him since she left him at his rental car. While it was unusual, she knew that it was very likely that he had been needed to go out on a case. She opened the door, stepped inside, and placed her bag down with a forceful exhale. Her work day had been busy and a good part of it she spent avoiding Charles. When they did see each other she gave him the shortest answers needed not wanting to get into an argument with him. Tori knew Jean-Paul had noticed but thankfully refrained from mentioning it to her.

After locking the door, she took off her shoes, picked them up and headed down the hall to her bedroom. During the short walk, Tori debated whether to jump in the shower and try to relax, or change and make something to eat since she was starving. She took one step into the bedroom and jumped back, startled.

“Sacrament!” she said aloud breathing heavily.

“Hi!” Tony replied. He had been heading out of the bedroom at the same time Tori was entering and the pair almost collided.

“What are you doing here aside from almost giving me a heart attack?” Tori asked sharply as she tried to calm down.

“I had a bad feeling,” he tried to explain. He took a couple of steps backward to allow Tori to enter the room and to give her some space. Tony could tell she wasn’t exactly pleased at that moment to find him in her apartment.

“You had a bad feeling?” she questioned and looked at Tony with wide eyes. Tori tossed the shoes she was clutching in a corner keeping her eyes focused on the NCIS agent.

“Umm, yeah,” Tony said a bit hesitantly and sat down on the edge of the bed. He knew he would have to be totally honest with Tori if he wanted the relationship to work. He took a deep breath and then slowly continued, “A bad feeling about Charles.”

“Tony, I thought we cleared this up earlier,” Tori said. “I’m interested in you…only you. Not Charles, not someone I bump into on the street. Don’t you believe me?”

“Yes, I believe you. Of course I believe you,” he replied emphatically. “But something doesn’t feel right with him and I’m going with my gut on this.”

“Going with your gut,” she said, mostly to herself, while slowly nodding her head. Tori understood what Tony was saying but yet her practical side was screaming internally. She walked over to him, put a finger under his chin and gently tilted Tony’s head up so he was looking directly at her. “What about work? You can’t just stay here because of some vague feeling you have.”

“It’s taken care of,” Tony said and took her hand in his. As he stood up he saw the doubt in her eyes. “It’s all good, Victoria.”

“Okay,” she said quietly trying to squash her uncertainty. After a few seconds, Tori even managed a bit of a smile.

He put his arms around her and held her close until he felt her begin to relax. “Why don’t you change and we can get something to eat?” Tony whispered in her ear. “I’m starving.”

“Glad to hear that your gut feeling hasn’t ruined your appetite,” Tori said as she grabbed a pair of jeans out of a drawer.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. “I remember someone having a bad feeling about the guy her sister was dating. Did I argue with you about it?”

“No,” she replied sheepishly and quickly took off her skirt and put the jeans on. “However, I would like to point out that this is not an argument. I’m just hungry, too.”

“Pizza?” Tony suggested as he watched Tori grab a pair of black sneakers out of the closet. While she was donning short skull socks and tying her shoes, he idly picked up the book she had left on the nightstand. It was titled Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces.

“Umm, sure. I could always make something, you know,” Tori said.

“No, you’re not making anything,” he answered off-handedly as he flipped through a few pages. “Charles was right; we don’t have much in common. I can’t talk to you about this stuff.”

Tori got up and took the book out of Tony’s hands. She then placed it back on the nightstand. “You watch movies. I read art books,” she stated.

“But…,” he began to say.

“But nothing,” Tori interrupted and held a finger against his lips. “I don’t want you to talk to me about what’s in that book. I would rather listen to you talk about movies and your occasional impression. Can we get something to eat now?”

Tony responded by practically pushing her out the bedroom door and down the hall with a smile on his face. They enjoyed a pizza and beer and then returned to the apartment. Tori decided to take a quick shower, while Tony settled down on the sofa to watch a movie.

“Thanks for doing the laundry,” Tori said as she walked into the living room clad in a big fluffy black robe.

“You can pay me back later,” Tony replied with a wink as he looked over at her.

“I already paid you back. I bought dinner,” she teased. As they laughed, the doorbell rang. Tony stopped laughing and gave Tori a questioning look. She wasn’t expecting anyone and shrugged in reply. As she turned to go and answer it, he tugged on her sleeve to stop her. Tony then got up, motioned for her to stay where she was, and walked to the door.

The NCIS agent unlocked and slowly opened the door. Tony's eyes grew wider as he realized just who was standing in the hallway. "Funny, I thought you understood English," Tony said coldly as he looked straight at Charles.

"Tony, who is it?" Tori called. She had remained in the living room and didn't have a clear view of the door.


	17. Chapter 17

# Receiving no reply, Tori walked the steps to the door of her apartment. She froze and stopped short when she saw Charles on the opposite side of the open door.

# “What are you doing here?” Tori asked him coldly in French. She then repeated her question in English so Tony could understand what she was saying.

Charles opened his mouth to answer. His eyes glanced quickly at Tony who remained stonily silent waiting for a reply. The older man then closed his mouth having thought better of saying anything.

“Charles, leave now so I don’t have to call the police,” Tori said. She was content to remain behind Tony’s imposing presence in the doorway as she subconsciously crossed her arms across her body.

“What will you tell them? That a co-worker is visiting?” Charles asked snidely.

“A co-worker who wasn’t invited and has been asked to leave,” Tony broke in.

“Just go,” Tori entreated. “Maintenant!”

Charles looked at Tori with narrowed eyes and dour expression. “Of course,” he said and then turned and left. Tony waited and made sure the hallway was empty before closing and locking the door again.

While Tony stood in the doorway, Tori made her way back to the sofa and sat down. She was still staring at a space on the floor when he came and sat down next to her. He gently bumped her shoulder with his own and asked, “You okay?”

Jarred out of her thoughts, Tori answered without looking at him, “Ummm, I guess so. I just never thought he would show up outside my door. I try to be so careful.”

“I know,” he told her.

“I never gave him my address,” she impressed upon him.

“I know. He’s got quite an obsession with you,” Tony said as she looked off at the television screen. “I get it. You’re smart, talented, funny, spunky and a bit punky, not to mention pretty. Beautiful, actually.”

As he was speaking, Tori’s eyes welled up and her lower lip quivered as she tried not to cry. She turned her head to look at Tony and as their eyes met she lost the battle and the tears began flowing down her face. Initially, Tony froze at her display of emotion not knowing what to do or say. He quickly recovered and instinctively put his arms around her and pulled her close. Tori buried her face in his chest and sobbed as Tony stroked her hair. After a few minutes, her breathing returned to normal and she picked her head up.

“Sorry,” Tori said as she patted the damp spot on his shirt.

“I’ll dry out. Feel better?” he asked quietly and gently wiped away the last of her tears with a finger.

She gave him a small shrug in reply and held his hand against her face.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Tony told her.

“Tony, you can’t be here all the time,” Tori said quietly and let go of his hand. “We both know that.”

“I want you to talk to Jean-Paul,” he said firmly while looking at her directly.

“Is that really necessary?” she asked.

“Victoria, you don’t have to tell him everything, but I think it’s time he’s aware of what has been going on,” Tony explained. “Jean-Paul is your supervisor and right now, he is Charles’ too.”

“Okay,” Tori agreed as her cellphone rang. She knew Tony was right. “Can you answer that? It’s Abby and I just can’t right now.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?” Tony asked as Tori handed him her phone. He was somewhat taken aback by the request; he knew Tori generally didn’t answer Abby’s call when she didn’t want to speak to her.

“Whatever you think best; you know Abby,” she replied as she stood up and headed down the hallway to the bedroom.

Minutes later when he entered the room, Tony found Tori curled up under the bedcovers. “I told Abby you’ll call her tomorrow,” he said and began to disrobe.

Tori nodded without picking her head up from the pillow. “Thank you. You’re not watching the end of the movie?”

“It loses something when you’re not there,” Tony said as he turned out the light. He crawled under the blanket clad only in boxers, moved in close and put his arms around Tori, holding her until she fell asleep.

The next morning Tori walked into the museum accompanied by Tony. She had texted Jean-Paul before leaving home and asked for a few minutes of his time first thing that morning. As they made their way to her office Tony said, “If you want me to go in with you, I will. It’s your call.”

Much to Tony’s surprise, Tori looked over at him and nodded as she said, “I’d like that.”

Shortly after they sat down in Tori’s office, Jean-Paul poked his head in the doorway to see if she was ready to meet. Tori stood up and smiled over at Tony who also got to his feet. Jean-Paul got a curious look on his face, as he watched Tony stand up and follow Tori into his office. “Moral support,” Tori told Jean-Paul in French noticing her boss’ expression. Her comment did nothing to dispel the man’s expression or curiosity.

The trio sat down and Jean-Paul looked over at Tori. She cleared her throat, glanced over at Tony again and began relating the recent events to her boss. Tony looked on, happy that Tori had agreed to talk to Jean-Paul. Since they were talking in French, as Tori had warned him beforehand, the agent was only able to understand a word here or there and not the entirety of what was being said. After a period of serious discussion, Jean-Paul asked another question that caused Tori to suddenly start laughing. The outburst jarred Tony from his thoughts and he wondered what Jean-Paul had said that amused her. Before he could ask, Tori stood up and thanked Jean-Paul.

“Are you ready?” she asked looking over at Tony.

“If you are,” Tony replied. He got up from the chair and extended his hand to Jean-Paul. “Good to see you again, and thank you,” Tony told the other man.

The phone on Tori’s desk was ringing as they re-entered her office. “Do you mind if I get that? I’ve been waiting for a call back from another museum and hopefully that’s it,” she asked Tony.

“I’ll meet you at Sylvie’s desk,” he said and left her office.

While Tori was on the phone, Tony quickly tracked down Georges. The NCIS agent filled in the security guard on what had happened the night before. The older man reassured him that he would keep an eye on Tori as he had promised earlier. When Tony got back to Sylvie’s desk, Tori was talking to the receptionist as she waited for his return.

“You forgot this,” Tori told him as she handed over his go bag.

“I see you’re tossing me out bag and baggage,” he said with a smile.

“Don’t get your hopes up just yet,” she replied. “I’m thinking of letting you hang around for a bit.”

The pair walked to museum entrance. “Try to make it to the plane this time,” Tori told Tony with her eyes twinkling. “I’ll be fine; you’ve got everyone keeping an eye on me now.”

“Can’t be too careful,” the NCIS agent replied. “What was so funny when you were speaking with Jean-Paul, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“You really should think about learning more than five French words,” she teased.

“I know more than five words in French,” Tony protested.

“Yes and no don’t count,” she shot back.

“Victoria Theriault you’re avoiding the question,” he stated sternly.

“When Jean-Paul saw you were still here and coming in with me, he assumed I was going to tell him we were getting married,” Tori finally admitted. She watched for Tony’s reaction with intense curiosity.

“Married?” Tony asked with wide-eyed surprise.

“I know,” Tori said in attempt to match his shock. “I told him he had nothing to worry about.”

“You wouldn’t marry me?” he inquired suddenly surprising Tori.

“One day, when and if you really want to know the answer, you’ll have to ask the question,” she told him with a smile. “Call me when you land.”

“Of course,” he said and gave her a quick kiss.

* * *

 

Tori returned Abby’s call while having lunch at a small café and filled her sister in briefly on the previous night’s events. Afterwards, Tori returned to the museum and Abby went back to her lab to find Tony waiting there with some evidence for her to run.

“Hard at work already, I see,” Abby said to the agent cheerfully as she looked at the evidence bags he had piled on a table.

“I’m playing catch up and I’m trying to get on Gibbs’ good side after being out an extra day,” Tony told her.

“Good luck with that,” she told him with a rueful chuckle.

“Tell me about it. Good thing he likes your sister,” the agent replied.

 “Speaking of…I hear you had an interesting weekend,” she stated with a questioning look in his direction.

“I take it Victoria filled you in,” he replied without providing more details.

“I got the cliff notes version. Is Tori okay?” Abby inquired as she signed evidence bags Tony had brought her. “She said she was fine, but I’m not sure I believe her.”

“Charles showing up was a shock but your sister’s a tough cookie; she’s fine,” Tony said in a tone that was much lighter than his feelings on the subject.

“You aren’t just telling me that, are you, Anthony DiNozzo? I want the truth,” Abby stated sternly,

“Abs, if I didn’t think she was going to be okay I wouldn’t have gotten on a plane this morning,” he assured her seriously.

Abby studied the agent carefully as if she was trying to discern what he might not be telling her. Tony patiently stood in front of her with his face composed and waited for her reaction.

“You’re sure?” she asked again with narrowed eyes.

He nodded and began to head out of the lab.

“Hey, Tony. Is there anything else I should know?” Abby called. Even though she knew it was a futile effort, she was hoping to Tony would reveal more about his feelings for Tori. When Abby had brought the subject up again with her sister earlier in the day, Tori ignored the attempt.

“I don’t think so,” he said quickly. “I’ve gotta run. Talk to you later.”

* * *

 

While Tony spent the afternoon getting up to speed on the latest NCIS case the team was working on, Tori caught up on paperwork and phone calls. She also tried her best to keep the incident with Charles from overtaking her thoughts. Before leaving work for the day, she went for a stroll through the museum and stopped to speak with Georges.

“Is Tony back across the border?” the guard asked Tori as she stopped by.

“Yes, he actually got on the plane this time,” she replied seriously with a slight shake of her head.

“Tori, Tony told me what happened and he has every right to be concerned. What if he wasn’t with you last night?” George said. He could tell that Tori wasn’t herself after what happened, just as Tony had related to him earlier in the day.

“I would rather not think about that,” she replied and Georges nodded sympathetically.

“You have my phone number if you need anything,” Georges told her. “You can call anytime.”

“I know,” she said quickly. Although Tori was appreciative of Georges reaffirming what she already knew, she hated to be reminded that everyone was looking out for her.

“I mean it, Tori,” he stressed.

“I know,” she repeated. As they were talking Charles poked his head in the gallery. The pair had heard the footsteps and looked towards the entrance simultaneously. Charles paused for a second as if he was going to enter the room but then as he looked at Tori and Georges the man seemed to change his mind and walked away without a word.

“That one needs to be on a plane, too,” Georges muttered.

“Hopefully that will be soon,” Tori said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Georges.”

“Wait a minute,” he said as she began to leave. “I’m walking you to your car.”

“That won’t be,” Tori began protesting but stopped when she saw Georges’ face. “That would be wonderful. I need to pick up my things from my office first.”

“I’ll meet you by Sylvie’s desk,” the guard told her.

As the pair walked out the museum and towards Tori’s car, Charles watched from inside the museum.


	18. Chapter 18

After the exhausting day at work, Tori went home and changed into her favorite black lounge pants and an NCIS t-shirt that Tony had left there. Shortly after sending the agent a short email, Tori curled up and fell asleep on the sofa without a second thought to the recent events. Tori awoke around four in the morning now ravenous and made the short walk to the refrigerator. She grabbed a half of a leftover croissant, spread some jam on it, and took it back to the sofa along with some water. Since she was wide awake with no chance of falling back to sleep and her laptop was still turned on, Tori decided to check her email. She laughed as she read Tony’s reply to her previous message and noticed from the time it was sent that he must have been working late. Still chuckling to herself minutes later, Tori shut off the laptop and went to take a shower.

Tori arrived at work early and met Georges on her way into the museum. A short time later, he was sitting in her office asking about her evening.

“No one bothered you last night, did they?” Georges asked deliberately avoiding mentioning names.

“I wouldn’t know if they did. I went home and fell asleep,” she told him with a laugh.

“Tori, are you sure nothing happened?” the security guard pressed.

“I had no visitors, no calls or messages on my phone…aside from Tony, and I generally enjoy when he bothers me,” Tori replied cheerfully.

Georges nodded and returned the smile. “I would say Tony enjoys it, too. It is a shame that he doesn’t live closer to bother you more often,” he told her.

“Let’s not rush things,” she said in a mostly serious protest. “Besides, I’m not really sure that he’s the type that settles down.”

“I see that I need to remind you what Jeremie was really like before he met you. I never thought he would settle down; love is an amazing motivator,” Georges said.

“So is a threat every now and again,” Tori said with a wink.

The security guard laughed but any further conversation and stories Georges might have had to tell Tori was cut short by Charles coming into the room. Tori’s former lover glared as he walked by the pair and proceeded into Jean-Paul’s office.

“I need to get to work,” Georges said and stood up after rolling his eyes after Charles passed by. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“I will. At least it’s only a few more days,” she said as she tilted her head towards the other doorway that Charles had walked through a few seconds prior.

Almost an hour later Charles walked back into Tori’s office just as she was hanging up the phone. Instead of continuing on past her desk and entering the hallway, he stopped directly in front of her. As much as she dreaded speaking with him, Tori knew there was no way to avoid acknowledging his presence.

“Yes?” she asked with a quick glance upwards before returning her attention to the computer screen.

“No bodyguard today? Wasn’t Tony afraid to leave you alone?” Charles asked scornfully.

"He wasn’t here to guard me," she lied.

“He is insecure, Victoria, and afraid another man will take you away from him,” Charles told her.

“Tony has no reason to be afraid. He is the only man who will be taking me anywhere in the foreseeable future,” she replied.

“I doubt that he would tell me to go home if he didn’t feel threatened by me."

"You showed up at my door uninvited," Tori replied.

"I was only visiting a co-worker," Charles reasoned.

"I didn't give you my address…or my phone number. Tony has a problem with that – as do I. Stay away!" Tori glared at him.

Tori was grateful when her desk phone rang giving her a way to escape dealing with Charles any further. “Now, please excuse me.”

* * *

 

Tori met her friend, Elise, for a quick drink after work before going home for the evening. After arriving at her apartment, she changed clothes and began to make herself something more substantial to eat than the poutine she had split with Elise. While waiting for water to boil, she flipped on the radio and found it still tuned to a jazz station. Tori’s first inclination was to change it to her favorite music but she pulled her hand back from the button and started chopping some vegetables instead.

Tori took her plate to the living room and picked at her food while sitting on the sofa reading. She had only progressed a few pages when her phone rang.

“I really hope I’m not the reason you have to stay so late these days,” Tori said and placed her plate on a side table.

“Because I stayed a little longer than planned? Nah, though you’d be worth any amount of long hours; working very late is just one of the many perks of the job,” Tony told her.

“There’s a compliment buried in there somewhere that I am going to hold on to and possibly use against you at a later date,” she replied. Tori's conversation with Georges earlier in the day briefly ran through her mind as she listened to Tony laugh and she found herself beginning to wish he was the type that would settle down.

“How was your day?”

Tori recounted her day somewhat reluctantly including the brief encounter with Charles. “I really don’t like you being alone while he’s still there,” Tony said.

“Technically, I’m not alone. There’s Georges, and now Jean-Paul is aware of the situation, and let’s not forget Abby. She’s been sending me twenty messages a day lately which is a lot even for her,” Tori replied.

“And which of those people is there with you now?” he asked.

“None,” she admitted after a short silence.

“Exactly,” he said and then yawned.

“You’re a ray of sunshine tonight,” Tori said with a tinge of sarcasm. "I think I like it better when you quote movies for hours."

“I want you to be safe, Victoria.”

“I am safe,” she declared. “Even though you don’t think so, I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”

“I wasn’t implying that you couldn’t. You’re very capable,” he said. “I just...I have this feeling I can’t get rid of. I would feel better if I was there with you.”

Tori tried her best to reassure him. She again listed her co-workers, friends, and family that were closely keeping an eye on her. Tony listened without interrupting and tried once again to calm the uneasiness he felt. He then suggested they watch a movie in an attempt at keeping Tori on the phone longer, but she declined and told him to get some sleep. Reluctantly, Tony hung up the call.

* * *

 

At the NCIS’ offices the next morning, Tony dropped off an evidence bag and then lingered in the lab picking up and putting down various items that surrounded Abby’s many monitors. The forensics tech watched him out of the corner of her eye silently amused, as she typed on her keyboard patiently waiting for him to say something.

“Have you heard from your sister?” Tony suddenly asked. He placed one of the goth figures he had been holding back where he found it after making an attempt to match its expression.

“Early this morning for a minute or two but she was on her way out the door."

"How did she sound?" he inquired.

"Okay. Why?” Abby said with nonchalance and was met with silence from the NCIS agent.

“Tony, is everything alright?” Abby said when she didn’t receive an answer. When she turned to face him, she wore a stony expression and he blanched somewhat under her scrutiny.

“Everything’s fine, I guess. I just haven’t heard from her.”

“You haven’t heard from Tori at all?” she asked and watched him pick up the doll he had just put down. Abby knew that her sister checked in with Tony via text every morning upon waking. She also knew that the pair spoke almost every evening on the phone or at least sent an email if Tony was working late.

“We talked for a while last night and she sent me a good morning text,” the agent admitted.

“And?” she said with her usual perkiness.

“And…that’s it. I sent a few texts back but…nothing,” Tony said emphatically. While he was talking, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked again for any missed calls or messages.

“Something probably came up and she got busy,” Abby suggested.

“Maybe,” he considered and walked towards the door of the lab.

“She could be walking the museum. You know she never takes her phone,” Abby said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Tony replied half-heartedly.

“Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you?” she asked.

“If you hear from her, let me know,” he replied.

“Okay,” Abby said and watched him leave the lab with an expression of concern and unease filling her face. She then picked up her cellphone and dialed Tori’s number. After ringing a few times, the call went to voicemail and Abby left a message for her sister to return the call as soon as she received the message.


End file.
